How does one overcome the challenges to finding time for meaningful professional learning? The authors asked seven experts in the field, and these practitioners offer powerful strategies for making better use of educator time. An example from Illinois centers student data in school systems as an essential component of a school's overall commitment…

The University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) is an urban research university with a special emphasis on fostering diversity. In 2021, the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence created a Faculty Fellows program to develop comprehensive resources and support in four areas: teaching and learning, service and engagement, research and creativity,…

The Standards Assessment Inventory (SAI) has provided relevant, educator-level data helping systems of all kinds -- states, districts, schools, provinces, and organizations -- gather and track data about the professional learning their educators experience. An online, confidential, valid, and reliable instrument administered to school-based…

Meaningful change towards antiracist practices take time. There are no quick fixes. Quick workshops on implicit bias and microaggressions rarely lead to lasting changes in teaching practices. Equity QUantified In Participation (EQUIP) learning communities organize faculty members to work together to promote antiracist teaching. Equity analytics…

Assessment professionals are often at the helm of leading discussions around data-use and data-driven decisions for higher education stakeholders. However, the problem is that assessment practitioners must be cognizant of how to engage stakeholders with equity-minded and socially just informed assessment practices. The purpose of this article is…

Research-practice partnerships often face a fundamental tension: well-designed, high-quality research takes time, but practitioners and policy makers need answers to pressing questions as soon as possible. In this article, Jason Sachs, Meghan McCormick, JoAnn Hsueh, and Catherine Snow discuss this mismatch between the tight timelines of…

Acting to dismantle structural racial inequities begins with identifying and clearly naming the challenges being faced. Data play a powerful role in this process. Several recent publications synthesize data sources, research findings, and expert recommendations to inform and guide equity improvement efforts. A five-part "Statement of the…

Weaving is a significant metaphor for kaiako in Aotearoa New Zealand. "Te Whariki" (Ministry of Education, 2017) is central to their professional lives. At Daisies Early Education and Care Centre (hereafter Daisies), the strands in Te Whariki shape the curriculum and its principles guide pedagogy and relationships. In January 2019, the…

Schools everywhere are facing teacher shortages due to a shrinking pool of applicants and a growing number of teachers leaving the profession. If schools are going to attract and retain highly qualified effective teachers, they will need to be more intentional in designing systems that support a healthy workforce. Positive Behavioral Interventions…

School closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have left educators and families with the responsibility of rapidly learning how to support students while they are at home. This fundamental shift in the way most students receive instruction makes it critical for educators and families to be able to use data to meet students where they are and…

This research summary provides the key findings and interpretive summary--chapters 3 and 4--from the full report, "Reaching for Improvement: Teacher Evaluation and its Role in Instructional Improvement." The full report contains additional details on the context, methodology, and findings of this study. This document has minor…

When superintendent Rudy Hernandez first arrived at Cicero School District 99, he knew he had challenges to address across the district. With a near-90 percent poverty level and a student population made up of 50 percent English language learners, he knew he needed to work with teachers to build a data-driven support system to affect change.…

When the primary federal law governing K-12 schooling was updated in 2015 as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), it shifted many decisions to states and districts. However, through two of its core programs (Title I and Title II-A), ESSA retained federal requirements for states to set challenging content standards, assess student performance,…

The use of student data to inform decision-making and communication is still evolving in higher education. Often missing from campus conversations about use of student data are student voices about their preferences and needs. NASPA and New America engaged in a joint research effort to better understand student perceptions of data use within…

Disproportionality in exclusionary school discipline is a longstanding challenge in general and special education. To reduce disproportionality in discipline in a way that produces measurable results, federal law provides a mechanism referred to as Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS). Whether a school district has been cited for…