From Score Reports to Student Stories: A Thematic, Integrated Approach to Evaluation Writing
Zoom with Dr Ed Schultz

      


Many evaluation reports have become stagnant, organized test by test, filled with rewritten score summaries and lengthy test descriptions that add little meaning and, as policy guidance makes clear, should not substitute for analysis. This session challenges that pattern and reframes report writing as the disciplined work of telling the story of a student. Participants will examine how integrated data analysis allows evaluators to move beyond isolated scores and toward coherent themes that reflect patterns across classroom performance, intervention data, work samples, observations, and formal assessment results. We will explore how to restructure reports away from a test-by-test format toward a thematic approach that aligns with research and policy expectations, enhances educational relevance, and yields clearer, defensible interpretive statements. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for writing reports that synthesize rather than summarize, prioritize meaning over mechanics, and connect findings directly to impact and instruction