Alameda Unified School District (AUSD)
Alameda, California
Alameda Unified School District is committed to upholding our community’s core values of equity and excellence for every student by providing inclusive and safe conditions for learning that challenge and support every student to be culturally competent and prepared for college, career, and community participation.
Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) constantly strives to ensure its students not only excel academically but also feel supported holistically. With over 9,000 students, the district needed a way to seamlessly integrate academic and wellness data to inform decisions and allocate resources equitably. They identified key areas of focus in their efforts to enhance real-time decision making to support student growth, including:
- The need for real-time student insights for better growth tracking.
- The challenge of analyzing holistic student data, including social-emotional well-being.
- The need to improve classroom feedback mechanisms for tailored learning experiences.
- Ways to enhance collaboration across grade levels and educational partners.
To address these challenges, AUSD adopted Renaissance solutions, including Star Assessments, DnA, and Freckle—and soon eduCLIMBER. Leveraging these tools brought, and continues to bring, transformational results across multiple spheres of education, including:
Using Star Assessments for real-time reading and math interventions
Kathleen Collins, an Instructional Coach at AUSD, shared that the district uses Star Assessments for grades 1–5 as a universal screener at the beginning of, and at regular intervals throughout, the school year. Using valid and reliable results, this process identifies students needing intervention and tracks their growth over time. The data also informs classroom instruction by highlighting specific areas where students need support.
“We prioritize students based on their Star data and monitor their growth throughout the year. It helps us to group them for support and ensures interventions are based on clear, actionable insights.”
— Kathleen Collins, Instructional Coach at AUSD
Secondary Math Coach Lise Needham adds, “We have a multiple measures process for [math acceleration] where we look at students’ SBAC data, their Star data, their grades, and scores on common assessments that we administer. We create a matrix for our school sites so they can review all of their students who meet the criteria.”
Better collaboration through data integration
AUSD’s adoption of Renaissance tools also transformed collaboration. Lindsey Jenkins-Stark, Senior Manager of Research, Assessment, and Data at the district, commented on the value of aligning data across grades and teams to create coordinated support strategies.
Using the Multiple Measures Report—a custom report they built in DnA—teachers can access a consolidated view of student test scores, grades, and demographics. This ensures everyone—teachers, parents, and administrators—is on the same page.
“Having a systematic way to view and share data has completely changed how we make decisions. Whether it’s placing students in summer school or allocating long-term interventions, all our decisions are grounded in data.”
— Lindsey Jenkins-Stark, Senior Manager of Research, Assessment, and Data at AUSD
Addressing whole child needs with wellness surveys in DnA
Recognizing that education goes beyond academics, AUSD instituted wellness surveys through DnA to assess social-emotional factors like students’ sense of belonging and overall well-being. Administered three times a year, these surveys help identify red flags—such as loneliness or stress—and guide the allocation of resources like counseling or support groups.
“We’ve even used this data to address system-level issues, like easing the grade 5–6 transition, which students reported as particularly stressful. We’ve made changes and seen firsthand how these insights improve outcomes.”
— Cassie Ferguson, Program Manager for Student Support Services & Interventions at AUSD
These surveys were created as Flex Assessments in DnA through collaboration between AUSD’s Student Services and Research, Assessment, and Data teams. The surveys are also administered to students and have their results reported in DnA, showing the flexibility of assessment creation and administration in DnA. This survey data then feeds into the Multiple Measures Report, which is the district’s source of truth for evaluating whole-child data for all students across the district.
Empowering teachers and students in the classroom with Freckle and Star Assessments
With Freckle and Star Assessments, educators across the district foster student confidence through tailored lessons and immediate feedback. For example, Freckle enables teachers to quickly provide differentiated lessons for math and ELA based on real-time performance data.
Teachers note that students’ ability to track their progress and see visual growth increases their confidence, especially when they move out of interventions into benchmark levels.
Positive outcomes across the board
The impact of these tools has been evident in numerous areas, including:
- Improved student outcomes:
The number of students in intervention categories has shown a consistent decline in recent years. “Over the past three years, we’ve tracked a steady decline in students needing urgent support. Seeing data support our hard work is incredibly motivating for teachers,” Collins explains. - Efficient communication with families:
The district uses DnA and its reporting tools to effectively share Star results with parents, reinforcing trust and transparency. “Parents know exactly what to expect and receive timely updates about their child’s achievements through automated performance reports,” Jenkins-Stark details. - Holistic approach to student growth:
With integrated academic and wellness data and custom reporting in DnA, AUSD effectively monitors both academic progress and emotional well-being. “DnA’s flexibility allows us to paint a complete picture of student health, showing progress not only in academics but in their emotional well-being, as well,” Ferguson says.
Why Renaissance solutions work
The tools provided by Renaissance have aided AUSD in overcoming key challenges through systematic, holistic, reliable data management, including helping to enable:
- Real-time feedback: Star Assessments provide actionable insights, enabling immediate adjustments in teaching strategies.
- Holistic reporting: Customizable reporting tools facilitate a comprehensive understanding of each student.
- Educator collaboration: From districtwide alignment to grade-specific team planning, shared data drives strategy and improves results.
- Student motivation: Freckle and Star’s visual dashboards empower students to track and celebrate their progress, fueling their drive to succeed.
Looking ahead
With data-informed decisions and innovative tools like Star Assessments, DnA, and Freckle, AUSD is paving the way for equitable education powered by insights. “The shift to data-driven decisions hasn’t just made processes smoother—it’s transformed how we approach student support holistically, and it’s yielding real results,” Jenkins-Stark notes.
Taking the next step, AUSD also recently launched Renaissance’s eduCLIMBER in the district, which takes whole child support to the next level, enabling even more ways to see every student on a single pane of glass.
Interested in seeing similar results?
Whether you’re optimizing classroom teaching, improving district collaboration, or implementing wellness programs, Renaissance solutions offer the flexibility and power to achieve your goals. Contact us to learn more about transforming your approach to student growth.