Research and Policy Associate Director of Literacy Assessment
Job Description
ABOUT EL EDUCATION
EL Education is a national nonprofit focused on making lasting change in our K-12 public schools. We partner with schools and districts in urban and rural communities across America to provide a transformative educational experience—steeped in challenge, leadership, and contribution—that prepares students from every background for success in college, careers, and life. Our unique approach of joining character to scholarship, inspiring students to work together to make positive change, has yielded groundbreaking results. Our approach centers on an expanded view of student success—one that integrates growth in the mastery of knowledge and skills, character, and high-quality student work, and is informed by the latest science of how students learn and develop. It is the foundation of our highly rated K-8 Language Arts Curriculum and school design model, both of which have proven through rigorous external research to significantly improve teacher practice and student outcomes.
EL Education has developed a four-year strategic plan, Advancing Equity in K-12 Education, to guide our work over the next four years. We are setting our sights on disrupting education inequities by realizing the full potential of our approach across school systems. We aim to reach 2.5M students by 2025.
EL Education was born out of a collaboration between The Harvard Graduate School of Education and Outward Bound nearly thirty years ago: founded as a break-the-mold model of school design with character and academics at the pinnacle. Our mission is to create classrooms where teachers can fulfill their highest aspirations and students achieve more than they think possible, becoming active contributors to building a better world.
ABOUT THE POSITION
Reporting to the Director of Research, The Associate Director of Literacy Assessment will help teachers and leaders use data-informed improvement strategies to make a dramatic impact on outcomes for hundreds of thousands of historically underserved students across the country using the EL Education K-8 ELA Curriculum.
This is an exciting opportunity for a candidate with a deep commitment to equity, expertise in literacy assessment and instruction, an ability to thrive in an environment of creative, innovative adaptation, and a desire to make a significant contribution to one of the leading K-12 organizations in the U.S.
RESPONSIBILITIES
As Associate Director of Literacy Assessment, you will:
Lead measurement and data work with district level partners
- Create and lead the use of innovative measurement systems for EL Education’s Three Dimensions of Student Achievement (Mastery of Knowledge and Skills, Character, and High-Quality Work) with our district partners, helping them calibrate, collect and analyze data, and engage in continuous improvement processes to transform teaching and learning.
- Use qualitative and quantitative literacy assessment data to understand student performance and help various stakeholders (teachers, coaches, school leaders, district leaders) take action to meet students’ needs and improve outcomes. Includes creating presentations, attending collaborative meetings, and leading internal and external training sessions.
- Lead the use of Walkthrough observation tools in the EL Education Dimensions data platform with district partners to promote use of key ELA instructional practices including culturally relevant pedagogy important to implementation of the EL Education ELA Curriculum. Includes developing and choosing indicators, calibrating, and collecting and using data with a focus on equity.
- Support district and school leaders in developing and enacting progress monitoring plans and engaging in continuous improvement practices to improve student achievement and teacher’s instructional practice.
Provide thought leadership in systems level measurement and impact evidence
- Contribute to the development of measurement tools for tracking progress towards equitable outcomes on EL Education’s Three Dimensions of Student Achievement — Mastery of Knowledge and Skills, Character, and High-Quality Work in the context of implementation of the EL Education ELA Curriculum.
- Keep current with academic and field research in literacy and literacy assessment, as well as communicating and building relationships with leading researchers.
- Support the development of materials and publications that summarize the research base and the theoretical basis for EL Education approaches to literacy instruction and student learning and contribute to efficacy research efforts that build the evidence base for the EL Education K-8 Language Arts curriculum.
CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS
This position requires a Master’s Degree in Literacy, Evaluation, Learning Science, or a related field, with at least 3 years of relevant work experience focusing on literacy assessment. Familiarity with Google applications a plus. The candidate should possess effective interpersonal, oral and written communication skills, and have a deep interest in educational issues, social justice, and equity. Demonstrated ability to collaborate and work successfully with diverse teams necessary.
As a successful candidate, you will have:
- 3+ years experience working with data related to literacy assessment and instruction.
- Strong knowledge regarding literacy achievement and measurement, including detailed knowledge of existing assessments commonly used by school districts. Understanding of strengths and weaknesses of existing achievement measures as well as analysis approaches to understanding growth and mastery.
- Demonstrated experience organizing and facilitating professional development sessions focused on literacy data as well as data collection, analysis, and debrief sessions with school and district leaders.
- Demonstrated ability to synthesize information and articulate current findings from multiple data sources and/or research studies and communicate them to educators in written, visual, and verbal formats.
- Familiarity with current academic literacy research on literacy assessment and instruction and interest in innovative measurement approaches for non-cognitive skills including social-emotional learning, character, and high quality student work.
- Excellent collaboration and organizational skills with sharp attention to detail.
- Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously and track work to completion.
- Willingness and ability to travel between 10% and 20% starting in the school year 2021-2022.
- A passion for EL Education’s mission and vision for student achievement.
COMPENSATION
We offer a competitive salary commensurate with experience and a wide variety of benefits, including paid-time-off, 403b match, maternity/paternity/adoption leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, and more.
