Annual Education Report Highlights Improvement Science and Data-informed Decisions in Merced County
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Educational leaders, elected officials and community members from across Merced County gathered Wednesday, Jan. 22, for the Merced County Schools Annual Education Report presentation, hosted in-person at the MCOE Downtown Center and virtually via livestream.
The presentation, led by Merced County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Steve Tietjen, highlighted educational updates for the 2023-24 school year, including graduation rates, student demographics and budget projections, among other insights documented in the report.
The 2023-24 report focuses on the role data-informed decisions and improvement science play in improving student performance, school culture and the educational system as a whole.
“Each year our report details information about our schools but focuses on a specific area,” Tietjen said at the presentation. “This year, the focus is on improvement science, because we know how data-informed decision making can benefit students.”
Author and improvement science expert Brandon Bennett, who presented at the event, emphasized the importance of data-informed decisions and understanding how to improve systems, including the education system. “The systems we choose to build, the systems we inherit, these are the systems that have profound influences on the outcomes.”
In addition to the report, two companion videos were produced by Merced Education Television (METV) highlighting positive data outliers within Merced County.
“We have some incredibly bright spots here in Merced County that really demonstrate how simultaneously focusing on the system and focusing on data that’s generated by the system can help us make changes in student outcomes,” Tietjen explained when introducing the videos.
Highlights from the event include a special performance of “These Palace Walls” and “Omar, Babkak, Aladdin, Kassim” by the Weaver School District Performing Arts Program from their production of “Aladdin Jr.”
Digital copies of the 2023-24 Annual Education Report as well as the video presentations are available at mcoe.org/annualreport. To request hard copies of the report for your school or office, contact communications@mcoe.org.