This action research study investigates the role of Data-Based Decision-Making (DBDM) in increasing academic outcomes within a charter school network. During Cycle 1, interviews and focus groups with teachers, interventionists, and school deans shed light on critical themes, including leadership, data collection, analytic capacity, and a culture…

Education officials have long hoped that the statewide academic assessments most students take each year could be used not only for accountability but also to guide instruction. Congress established the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) program in 2015 to help address this goal, offering up to seven states temporary flexibility…

This appendix volume supplements "Evaluating the Federal Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority: Early Implementation and Progress of State Efforts to Develop New Statewide Academic Assessments. Evaluation Report. NCEE 2023-004" analyzing the early progress of the first five assessment systems participating in the Innovative…

Education officials have long hoped that the statewide academic assessments most students take each year could be used not only for accountability but also to guide instruction. Congress established the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) program in 2015 to help address this goal, offering up to seven states flexibility from…

Even under ideal conditions, teaching is tough work. Facing unrelenting pressure from administrators and parents and caught in a race against time to improve student outcomes, educators can easily become discouraged (or worse, burn out completely) without a robust coaching system in place to support them. For more than 20 years, perfecting such a…

State longitudinal data systems can be a powerful tool to support student success and spur equity-minded improvement throughout state education systems, but state policymakers must ensure that students' information is safe and secure. In a case study looking at Louisiana's efforts to secure student data, this profile illuminates some of the…

This is a systematic review conducted of primary research literature published between 2007 and 2018 on the deployment and effectiveness of data analytics in higher education to improve student outcomes. We took a methodological approach to searching databases; appraising and synthesising results against predefined criteria. We reviewed research…

Research focusing on school climate has shown that healthy, safe, and positive school environments are associated with improved psychological, social, behavioral, and academic outcomes for secondary students. For this reason, it is important for schools to understand how to improve perceptions of school climate through effective, evidence-based…

Most districts help teachers use data to improve student learning, often supporting this effort with federal funds. But many teachers feel unprepared to use student data to inform their instruction -- referred to as data-driven instruction (DDI) -- and there is little evidence of whether it improves student achievement. This report assesses an…

As part of their improvement efforts, schools have increasingly turned to the use of data to improve instruction. This is due in part to the increasing availability of student assessment data throughout the school year. The strategy of using assessment and other data to inform teachers' instruction is often called data-driven instruction (DDI).…

The three appendices in this publication accompany the full report, "Evaluation of Support for Using Student Data to Inform Teachers' Instruction. NCEE 2019-4008" (ED598641). They include: (1) Supplemental Information on Study Design, Data, and Methods; (2) Supplemental Findings on Implementation of the Data-Driven Instruction…

Using data for decision-making is critical for schoolwide leadership teams and has been shown to enhance both social and academic outcomes for students (Faria et al., 2017). Using data effectively, however, requires that teams have a clear vision about the type of data, format of data presentation, and process for using data. To avoid expending…

To successfully implement Learning Analytics (LA) systems within higher education, we need to engage administrators, faculty, and staff alike. This paper is by and primarily for practitioners. We suggest implementation strategies that consider the human factor in adopting new technologies by analyzing the viability of our Learning Analytics…

Data-based decision making (DBDM) is presumed to improve student performance in elementary schools in all subjects. The majority of studies in which DBDM effects have been evaluated have focused on mathematics. A hierarchical multiple single-subject design was used to measure effects of a 2-year training, in which entire school teams learned how…

For a school improvement initiative to succeed, education leaders must do more than adopt a new program and train staff. This issue of "SEDL Insights" explores steps that leaders can take to ensure the successful implementation of a new program or practice.