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June 16, 2003
Tips for Effective Data Management
In these excerpts from TechLearning.com's weekly Leaders' Edge column, we answer questions about data-driven decision making.
By Susan Brooks-Young
Q: What is the basis for data-driven decision making?
A: Data-driven decision making, or D3M, is a key phrase in virtually all reform and accountability movements in education. In 1999 the U.S. Department of Education released a list of seven critical issues for systemic review and analysis of what works best in educational technology use. These issues, which are still used in monitoring and evaluating instructional technology programs, include instructional approaches, data sources for monitoring and evaluation, and the role of the teacher.
A listing and brief explanation of each critical issue may be found in "Critical Issues in Evaluating the Effectiveness of Technology" (www.ed.gov/Technology/TechConf/1999/confsum.html).
Q: In my district, each school is responsible for maintaining its own records. Would it be better to switch to a district-wide student information system?
A: With the implementation of No Child Left Behind, principals and districts will be asked to gather and report more data than ever before.
One of the major barriers to collecting district-wide data is the fact that many school sites are using files and templates they've created themselves. While the system works well for the individual school, it's often impossible to merge the data with other files for district reporting.
Student information systems make it feasible for data to be entered at each site and then aggregated to produce the kinds of reports that are required for NCLB. Individual schools can still generate reports, but they may have to work with the district information technologist to design a report format that works within the SIS. Chances are that the new report formats will be more flexible and will provide more opportunities for exploring data than the individual databases were able to support.
Q: How can I streamline the process of collecting data for a report or plan?
A: Begin a data library on-site or in your district office. The next time you need a school plan, a copy of a report sent to the state or federal office of education, or a grant or award proposal written previously, you'll know exactly where to find it and save yourself time.
What might you keep in the file? Here are just a few suggestions:
- Office referral, suspension, and expulsion counts
- Crime reports
- Current equipment inventories
- Software licenses.
Your library will have many more items depending upon the data your district collects, the plans and proposals you write, and the reporting you are required to do.
Q: Is there a reliable tool for manipulating data once it's been gathered?
A: The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing focuses on the assessment of the quality of education, particularly the problems associated with designing and using assessment systems for multiple purposes. The project offers a software program, Quality School Portfolio (cresst96.cse.ucla.edu/CRESST/pages/tech.htm), free to U.S. public schools and districts. Using this database program you can disaggregate student data, import data from a variety of sources, generate reports using 12 ready-to-use formats, and access resources such as surveys, questionnaires, and observation protocols.
Q: How can we use data to identify students who need additional services?
A: "20/20 Analysis: A Tool for Instructional Planning" provides an approach to identifying both the most and least successful students on your campus, helping you target categorical programs and resources to those children who need services most.
The two-phase process begins with a needs analysis. Choose an area (i.e., reading, math, behavior) and use existing data (test scores, teacher observation, discipline rates) to identify those students in the top 20 percent as well as the bottom 20 percent. These are the two groups where intensive work is needed.
The next step is to develop an implementation plan. Identify and analyze ways staff can modify existing programs or create new approaches to working with these two targeted groups, with an emphasis on meeting individual student needs.
This approach to program planning encourages you to plan interventions for all students "on the margin" as opposed to simply one end of the spectrum. It also helps effectively target categorical services.
A description of the process and contact information for school districts using 20/20 analysis are available at www.ed.gov/pubs/ToolsforSchools/20_20.html.
Susan Brooks-Young is an educational consultant and writer.
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