The Royal Treatment

I spoke with Mark Malaspina, president and co-founder of The Grow Network, a McGraw-Hill company, about why he and David Coleman founded the company and for further explanation of The Grow Network solution.
Interview by Ken Royal for District Administration Magazine

DA: “Mark, can you give me some background as to why you began The Grow Network?”

Mark Malaspina: “David Coleman and I founded the company in 2000. David and I come from different backgrounds, but had known each other for a long time. He was working with a company as a consultant for the New York City Schools, and my background was in urban development and I had taught a couple of years in the Peace Corps. We came together around the notion that people were talking about using data to help inform instruction, even back then, pre-NCLB, data driven decision-making was a hot notion in education. But when we were actually talking to teachers in the classroom, or parents who had received reports there was really very little attention paid to providing information to the users, whether they’re teachers, parents or students about what assessments really mean and the action you could take based on that data to improve learning for kids. Parents back then and in some states still receive a straight-forward table of numbers about their kids. We used to call it The Summons, because that’s what the parent report used to look like. Teachers would receive and list of all their students with their overall scores and sub-scores. No one really understood what this data meant, what the different reporting categories were, or what a good score or a poor score really was.”

DA: “So, they were getting all this paperwork and didn’t know what it really meant.”

Malaspina: “Exactly, or what steps to take next. So, we started a pilot program in New York City in 2000 - 2001, that was really exciting. What we were really doing was that for the first time we were providing teachers with reports about their students’ performance, together with next steps online to address their particular student’s strengths and needs. We would go into schools and talk to teachers about printed reports, online tools, and teachers would say that they had never seen anything that turns test results from something that could be dry or punitive into something that could actually help us - that could help guide us by prioritizing and differentiating.”

DA: “So, you went from what they were used to seeing, which could have been a negative view without much meaning for teachers to a more positive, which made sense to them?”

Malaspina: “Yes, it could actually be a tool that could help them make decisions and improve instruction in the classroom. And we began talking to parents as well. We worked with focus groups of parents to devise what the clearest way of explaining what these results would be. And our original notion was that we’d have printed reports and then an online Web site where you could find out more information. And what we discovered in 2006 working with Florida was that there was a much more powerful notion. As more and more parents had access to the Internet, whether at home, or at the workplace, we realized that we could actually provide a personalized Web site for parents. They could go and find out their child’s own, specific scores and information, including historical information about their child’s past test results, and then have all of that information linked with things like parent-friendly descriptions of what the standards are in that state, at that grade and subject, and activities parents could do at home in the particular areas of weaknesses for that student. There’s some really nice standards-based content that you can provide to students on a site like that.”

DA: “It’s great that this is all directed to the parent in a way they can understand it.”

Malaspina: “Yes, we were really conscious of all the language, so that we were not writing in jargon. It’s all about connecting standards to real life, and what that means for kids and how parents could really help, if they understood what their kids were expected to know.”

DA: “It must have been a big hit with parents immediately.”

Malaspina: “Yes, absolutely. It was a really exciting launch in Florida, where we went statewide for about 1.8 million parents and it allowed Florida parents to immediately gain access to results, without waiting for the reports.”

DA: “Was this in all the districts in Florida?”

Malaspina: “Yes, all the districts and statewide. It’s a really big program.”

DA: “When was that?”

Malaspina: “That was back in 2006. We’ve built the technology platform so that it will serve any state - the standards and sub-standards - all the information will be customized to that state. It’s been purchased by a few other states, such as Nevada and Indiana. We work carefully with the state, so that they feel comfortable with all the language for parents. And anything they want customized can go on the site.”

DA: “What do you see in the future for The Grow Network?”

Malaspina: “Well, I think that there’s more and more things that parents are interested in. One of the things that we’re doing is looking at how to engage with parents around English Language Learning (ELL) tests and alternate assessments, which are both very important types of assessments. A different kind of explanation is required, including translated elements for non-English speaking families for the ELL tests, additional explanations for what is being tested on the alternate assessments.”

DA: “Mark, do you have any audio or video at these sites?”

Malaspina: “Not on these particular sites, but we do have some professional development sites that do have some videos. An example is one made available in New York State with a partnership with Public TV - Channel 13. We provide links to very specific professional development content, so that teachers can go from an understanding of their class’ strengths and needs to professional development videos that can help address those needs.”

DA: “You are probably finding that parents enjoy the easy access to the kind of information they can get at The Grow Network site.”

Malaspina: “Yes, there’s a lot more home access than there used to be. Our site can be accessed just through a simple dial-up connection. We also make sure that our site can be accessed at libraries and work with the state to advertise the site at public libraries. So people who might not have home access can visit the libraries and we also see access during working hours, where people at work are accessing the site.”

DA: “Yes, that makes sense. Any other additions to what you’re doing already.”

Malaspina: “We launched a program in parallel to the parent involvement program, called the My Guide program, which directly engages the students themselves about what expectations there are for their learning, and how they can progress towards those expectations. If you can engage students directly then you can see significant achievement results. We are statewide in Texas and Arizona with this program. The idea is that you can provide students with a personalized guide, with their names on it, and an explanation of their test score results. It includes their overall scores and what areas they have specific needs in. So the guide itself has instructional content that is personalized for that student, based on that student’s profile.”

DA: “How are the profiles generated?”

Malaspina: “They come out of the assessment data. So, we’re able to process the assessment data, analyze it and produce this kind of personal learning plan for every student. We’ve essentially made a real student-friendly version of a report and then created a customized workbook, so a student can work as his or her own pace, with material that was really at the correct level.”

DA: “So, you’ve created something that the parents can actually understand for better parent involvement, and you’ve done the same things for the students at their level.”

Malaspina: “For the students there is also a companion Web site with multimedia tutorials, which goes back to your question about sound and video. So, in addition to the printed guide, students also have the My Guide Online, where they can get additional practice in a multimedia experience.”

DA: “Does this cover all the areas in their profile?”

Malaspina: “Yes, and we’ve really focused on the My Guide program on mathematics and English language arts.”

DA: And does all of this material come from McGraw-Hill?

Malaspina: “Yes. Sometimes we can work with the state, so some of the content can be release sample test items and customize it to the state. Everything is aligned to the state standards.”

DA: “How can states or districts get involved with The Grow Network?”

Malaspina: “We have regional people that can come and give in-person presentations, and we also have some really clear materials, so they can reach out to us. The program comes with professional development services. In the case of the My Guide program, it includes teacher training and the parent program comes with and outreach component. We can work with the local press and public libraries to make sure parents are made aware. The core concept in everything that we’ve done, for different audiences, is to bring together the data and match it with the right content for you and your child.”