ERIC Number: EJ1467300
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0924-3453
EISSN: EISSN-1744-5124
Available Date: 0000-00-00
School Context, School Leaders' Data-Informed Decision Making, and Student Achievement: Evidence from Florida
Changhee Lee1; Eric M. Camburn2; James Sebastian3
School Effectiveness and School Improvement, v36 n1 p45-70 2025
This study examines what forms of data school leaders use, how they matter for students' learning, and which school contexts matter for such leadership practices to succeed. Utilizing hierarchical linear modeling, we analyzed survey responses from 1,381 school leaders and administrative data from 269 Florida schools. We find that although school leaders place the greatest emphasis on responsive data use to identify student needs, followed by the state standardized test, there are no linkages between these practices and students' performance. Conversely, leaders place the least emphasis on benchmark assessment data, yet this is the only type of leaders' data use associated with student achievement. Such beneficial leadership practice is more likely to occur in schools characterized by trusting relationships among staff. Altogether, these findings suggest that professional development in benchmark test usage for leaders and the cultivation of trusting organizational cultures are crucial for advancing the potential of data-informed reform.
Descriptors: Data Use, Decision Making, Principals, Administrator Attitudes, Assistant Principals, Department Heads, Coaching (Performance), Mentors, Grade 5, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8, Academic Achievement, Context Effect, Middle Schools, Leadership Role, Educational Change, Accountability, Institutional Characteristics, Elementary Schools
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 5; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools; Grade 6; Grade 7; Junior High Schools; Secondary Education; Grade 8
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Florida
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Teaching and Learning, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; 2Division of Educational Leadership, Policy and Foundations, University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO, USA; 3Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA