Considerations for data analysis
Making sense out of data is what data analysis is all about. It involves looking for trends, plausible explanations, clusters of information that fit together, meanings, and implications for actions. School teams should be developed to approach the task of analyzing data.
Prior to conducting any analyses...
Clarify purposes: Before a school team begins the data analysis phase, it should clarify the purposes of the analysis and discuss how the results will be used and how they won’t be used. The primary purpose of school-level analysis should be to assist school staff in assessing how well they are meeting their students’ needs.
Focus the analyses: Analyses should focus on the school’s guiding principals, mission, and goals. Even if issues or questions are identified and focus specific pieces of the analysis, the school’s guilding principles should still provide the foundation for the analyses.
Secure commitment from the entire staff: If staff are to use the results, then they need to be part of the process and commit to some aspect of the work.
During analysis of the data...
Seek broad participation: The data-driven process is most successful when everyone understands that the purpose is to use data to move the school forward rather than point fingers and blame individuals.
Draw conclusions: Review individual analyses within the context of the larger, more comprehensive analysis. All the data should be used together to identify areas in need of improvement of attention.
Dig deeper: Decide whether additional analyses are warranted. Sometimes further disaggregations or additional data collection are necessary to understand thoroughly what is happening and to establish root causes of problems.
Remain positive: Provide adequate opportunities for school staff to understand how best to achieve desired results.
Ensure understanding: When school staff engage in data collection and analysis, they are better able to connect the results with what they do in the classroom. When they understand what needs to change and why, they will be more motivated to make changes in their instruction and attention to their students.
Education Commission of the States, Informing Practices and Improving Results with Data-Driven Decisions, August 2000