Data Use
Effective data use is central to teaching and learning improvement. Using data effectively involves strategic data collection that informs decision making to improve learning. This collection brings together resources to support the implementation and improvement of data use at all levels of the educational system, from state departments of education to classrooms.
Update: New sections to this collection include resources on the communication of data use and the evaluation of data use and value.
Systemic Data Use Supports
The resources in this section highlight considerations in designing data use systems or making improvements to current data use systems. The resources include how-to recommendations and showcase recent research in teachers’ data use perspectives.
Decision Making to Support Learning
Effective data use involves the ability to use data to support learning. For example, data use to inform instructional practice at the classroom level will look very different than that which is used to make district-level decisions. The following resources provide examples of how data can be used to support learning across multiple levels of the system.
Leadership
The resources included in this section provide leaders with information about the types of supports required to make changes and improvements for effective data use. The following include descriptions of key strategies and examples that leaders can draw on to support their own change efforts to improve data use.
Evaluation of Data Use and Value
Effective data use is largely contingent upon the quality of the data available. To this end, the resources in this section focus on elements related to data quality, including data integrity, making use of data drawn from multiple measures, and ensuring the purpose of assessing aligns with assessments in use.
Data Use Communication
Communication is a key factor in using data to improve learning. Multiple people are involved in the interpretation and use of data to improve learning. For this reason, clear communication is a key element of effective data use. The following resources support educators in communicating information about data to diverse audiences. Resources include tools and strategies that can be used by state, district, and school leaders.