Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making

Posted by on October 12, 2009

Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making, Laura Hamilton, et al., National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance at the Institute for Education Sciences, September 2009.

The latest practice guide from ED/IES provides a framework for using student achievement data to support instructional decision making, including how to adapt lessons or assignments in response to students’ needs, and how to alter classroom goals or objectives or modify student-grouping arrangements. This practice guide offers five recommendations for creating the organizational and technological conditions that foster effective data use, including: 1) make data part of an ongoing cycle of instructional improvement; 2) teach students to examine their own data and set learning goals; 3) establish a clear vision for school wide data use; 4) provide supports that foster a data-driven culture within the school; and 5) develop and maintain a district wide data system. Each recommendation describes action steps for implementation, as well as suggestions for tackling obstacles that may impede progress.

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practiceguides/dddm_pg_092909.pdf