Data‐driven professional development: The professional development plan for a reading excellence act school

Abstract The purpose of this article is to describe the professional development plan for an elementary school receiving federal funding through the Reading Excellence Act (REA). The Reading Excellence Act provided the school with a two‐year plan for literacy improvement. During the first year of the grant, assessment‐driven instruction and flexible grouping for instruction were the focus of professional development. This article focuses on the professional development of the second year of the grant during which school‐based data provided the REA grant coordinator with instructional needs of the staff, and disaggregated data provided specific needs for each grade level. Based upon the analysis of student achievement data, professional development for kindergarten and first grade teachers focused on training in word study to improve phonics and spelling achievement. Professional development for second through fourth grade teachers focused on fluency instruction and comprehension instruction, including narrative and expository text structure.