This policy brief has been prepared by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) for the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) Regional Conference, held in Manila from 5 to 7 November 2024. This brief is in response to the conference sub-theme of, 'Learning, equity and well-being: foundational literacy,…

Those asked to make valid decisions with data don't have the technical knowledge to understand nuance around data quality, assessment aims, and statistical limitations that influence how they should interpret the data. This reality is what Greg Thompson, Leslie Rutkowski, and David Rutkowski call the validity paradox. Educators can surmount this…

Data from high-quality State assessments can inform instruction and help school leaders drive resources to the schools and students that need them the most. This dear colleague letter from the U.S. Secretary of Education reminds all who report and interpret student outcomes this year that assessment data has always been meant to be used…

This study examines administrator perceptions of Pennsylvania's state assessment data. This study had three main purposes. The first purpose was to investigate the value and utility of state assessment data to inform decision making and the possibility of improving student achievement through the routine use of state assessment data. The second…

This study aimed at understanding and investigating the lived experiences of early childhood teachers' observation practices as a professional tool. Interpretative phenomenological approach was utilized to investigate participants' experiences deeply from their lived experiences. The current study's participants consisted of five early childhood…

Background/Context: Teachers' practice of interim assessment data use is subject to an array of individual, social, and organizational contextual factors. While contemporary research situates interim assessments within teachers' broader practice of data use, teachers do not make sense of interim assessment data in isolation. This…

In recent decades, there has been a growing body of research that highlights local education authorities (LEA) as potential contributors to support school capacity building and result development. Despite this, there are few empirical studies that have explored what effects different strategies and policy actions from the LEAs actual have over…

This volume brings together experts on various aspects of education to address many of the emerging issues and problems that affect how data are being used or misused in educational contexts. Readers will learn about the importance of using data effectively, responsibly, and ethically to fully understand how cognitive fallacies occur and how they…

School climate is important for continuous improvement. California's LCFF requires districts to report on school climate and use data to inform decision making. Qualitative data, derived from an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study, explored three belief constructs and sub-groups by response patterns. Education leaders have a range of…

The changes in the economy and society in this century have placed a greater emphasis on the skills that citizens need to be successful. This diverse set of skills, often referred to as 21st century skills, and including critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, communication, and socio-emotional skills, among others, are in high demand as…

Data-based decision making refers to collecting, analyzing, and reporting data to drive school improvement. This can apply to any level of the school from individual students to the entire system. When applied to the field of secondary transition, it refers to using data to drive decisions to improve the in-school and post-school success of…

Ever-growing expectations exist for educators to use assessments to collect, analyze, and interpret data, but how, if at all, are these processes affecting instruction? This descriptive case study of one team of second grade teachers offers an analysis of the links between teachers' use of data within their collaborative team meetings and…

There is great enthusiasm in Philadelphia and in districts across the country now for "data-driven decision-making" -- using the information from assessments of student learning to guide plans for what to teach and how to teach it. The core curriculum has been aligned with state standards in different content areas, and the mandated…