In education, data-informed decision making can mean many things. At the district level, data can inform budgets, resource allocation, and hiring. For individual schools, data can reveal patterns in student progress that should be addressed through curriculum changes and additional support. The classroom, however, may be where intentional and thoughtful data application can have the greatest impact on student learning.

Data can give teachers and students objective measurements for creating common ground. Observing students may simply mean asking the right questions: “How well are [students] making sense of the content? Interacting with others? Are they struggling with a learning activity? Such data from observations then leads us to adjust pacing for the whole class or scaffold for those students who are still struggling.” Furthermore, data-informed decision making helps teachers gain a better understanding of their own teaching. According to educators at Louisiana State University, “one common misconception about data-driven instruction is that it only focuses on teaching methods that lead to higher test scores.”

Bringing data into the classroom in consistent, non-judgmental ways also lets students gain agency over their own learning progress. Some methods might be:

• Adjusting the pacing of certain subject areas or topics to allow for more review or questions.
• Regrouping students for better differentiation.
• Discussing assessment results with individual students to help them set learning goals.

To help ensure the effectiveness of data-informed decision making, make sure to:

• Get buy-in from the entire school community. Make sure that administrators, teachers, students, and parents understand how data will be gathered as well as how it will be used.
• Provide teachers with support. Professional development resources allow educators to better understand assessment methods so they can maximize their application of collected data. Teachers also need to meet and discuss findings and methodologies with other educators and administrators.‍
• Maintain analysis and reflection. As information is collected and changes are implemented in the classroom, it’s crucial that schools continue to assess what’s working and what’s not. Classrooms are dynamic environments, and data-based decision-making should be flexible, responsive, and ongoing to best support them.

To create the greatest positive impact on student learning, data needs to accurately reflect student progress, and it needs to be available to teachers in a way that lends itself to implementation and clear, actionable analysis.

Learn more about how data-informed decision making can help students thrive at the following resources:

• Using Data: Engaging Students
• How Teachers Use Student Data to Improve Instruction
• Data-Informed Instruction Strategy Guide 2.0