Vision to Know and Do:
The Power of Data as a Tool in Educational Decision Making

Putting Data in an Education Context

Across the United States, school districts have adopted continuous improvement as a management style and created data-driven decision making systems to support it.

• Florida school districts in the Panhandle Area Education Consortium developed personalized learning plans for teachers to tailor professional development resources to individual needs with measurable outcomes.
  
  
• Pearl River School District in New York reduced administration costs by 21% to put more money into instruction.
  
  
• Chugach School District reduced teacher turnover from 50% to 12%, an important measure for a remote Alaskan community.
  
  
• Community Consolidated School District 15 outside of Chicago reduced student tardiness by changing bus routes.
  
  
• In Southern California, Poway Unified School District Administrators use a data warehouse system and web-based portal for easy access to comparative achievement data for students and gauge progress toward the standards of No Child Left Behind.
  
  

Data used to make decisions is a powerful tool, providing educators with a deeper vision to know more about students and learning, and to do better in achieving educational goals.

External Demands for Data, Internal Opportunity

Data collection, analysis and reporting are critical components of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The passage of NCLB in 2001 raised the stakes for school districts calling for increased accountability with more rigorous reporting requirements. School districts must collect more data, in more detail and disaggregate it to show which schools and students are making progress. Some states have developed state-level systems and support for collecting and integrating student assessment data with demographic information, but much of the burden has fallen to school districts to create systems that meet the technical requirements of the law. This requires more sophisticated collection, maintenance and reporting just to pass information up to the state and federal levels.

The mandates of NCLB provide school districts with an opportunity to utilize the data in ways that can transform teaching, learning and administration. A number of districts are already going beyond the mandates of NCLB and using data-driven decision making to inform decisions about everything from class schedules to textbook reading levels to professional development budgets. With the inevitable budget fluctuations, district leaders face tough choices in lean times and investment opportunities in flush days. Data that tells leaders what works in helping students learn provides a rationale for decisions that parents, teachers, taxpayers, and students can understand.

Improving Outcomes for All Children

Data analysis used for decision making has become a powerful tool for process improvement in both public and private enterprises. Over the last decade, businesses and government agencies have shifted from information management-an emphasis on the technology infrastructure used to collect and manage data-to knowledge management-integrating data and information into the daily activities of decision makers. As a result of this shift, data is used as a tool to test assumptions, identify needs, and measure outcomes.

On April 22, 2002, Alan Greenspan delivered these remarks at the Institute of International Finance, New York, New York:

Thirty years ago, the timeliness of available information varied across companies and industries, often resulting in differences in the speed and magnitude of their responses to changing business conditions…Today, businesses have large quantities of data available virtually in real time. As a consequence, although their ability to anticipate changes in demand seems little improved, they nonetheless address and resolve economic imbalances far more rapidly than in the past.

Educational enterprises have also begun to apply the strategies and approaches of knowledge management to their practice. Sophisticated data collection and dissemination technologies combined with a better understanding of how human beings learn is transforming education.

Rather than assuming that some students are not capable of learning as well as others and using tests as a way to select and sort students, new assessments aligned with goals provide students, teachers and schools with immediate feedback to adjust practice rather than deny service. Students begin with clear, standards-based goals and a learning plan to achieve mastery. They receive instruction with emphasis on their learning style and needs.

Transforming the Organization

Data-driven decision making also improves effectiveness of the organization as a whole. Leading school districts combine student data with information about school district operations to fine tune the organization and accomplish community goals. Data becomes powerful in an iterative process of continuous improvement.

The process begins with a community vision, measurable goals, assigned responsibility for success, and access to relevant information for every member of the organization throughout the school year. Data becomes integrated information available for faculty and staff to apply as knowledge, creating an environment where students succeed and so do their teachers.

This paper was written for school district leaders and K-12 educators who want to know how data can improve student learning and streamline organizations. The paper:

• highlights school districts using data analysis systems to improve student outcomes;
• identifies factors for successfully integrating data into decision making processes; and,
• calls for more emphasis on data-driven decision making as a way to prepare students with 21st century educational skills.