T3: Analyzing Data

If you have worked in education for any length of time, you have probably realized that we are up to our ears in data. Seriously. I know WAY more about students now than I did in my first few years of teaching. Don't get me wrong - I think it is a good shift to ensure that we are making instructional decisions based on valid and reliable data. We are able to diagnose student needs more accurately with data. However, there sure is a LOT of it. Standardized state test data at the end of a grade level or course, norm-referenced data to see how students compare among their peers, unit assessment data based on a group of standards, quizzes based on individual standards, homework, quick checks for understanding, etc.
    What do we do with all of this data? What are questions we should be asking ourselves about what we see in data reports to drive our next steps?
    Anyone ever seen the movie, Moneyball with Brad Pitt? It is a great movie for both math and baseball nerds fans. He is the manager of a baseball team with an overall losing record. He needs the team to win more games, but doesn't have a lot of money to bring in superstar players. He ends up teaming up with someone to help look at the data in a different way to make player trades and position swaps that will offset strengths and weaknesses in the team. By focusing on the numbers, they are able to turn the season around. It isn't quite an underdog story, but highlights the power of data.

    Let's start by talking about what data shows us. It shows us what students know or understand. That understanding could be based on a set of standards or developmentally appropriate skills for their grade level. It also shows us how much they have grown from the last set of data. We can measure growth from many different checkpoints. One grade level to the next. The beginning of the year to the middle of the year. The beginning of a unit to the end of unit. You get the idea. We are able to see how far students have come. It might be helpful to ask - was this typical growth that we should see in this amount of time? Did they exceed expected growth? Did they grow but not quite as much as expected? Those questions can lead to another thing that data shows us - the effectiveness of our instruction. We need data to validate teaching practices or to show us that we might need to make a change. If most of the students made typical growth or exceeded their goal, what we are doing is working! If not, it may be helpful to think about some other ways to teach content that may make a difference in student learning.
   What does data not show us? It does not determine if we are a good teacher or a bad teacher. It is sometimes disappointing to look at a set of data that isn't as strong as we had hoped. I can remember receiving my state test results one year and just sitting on a bench in the front office, going over everything I had done that year and wondering why it wasn't enough. My co-teacher at the time helped me look at growth since the achievement wasn't as high. Seeing how far students had grown was encouraging. It is critical to be reflective, but don't find your value as a teacher in student data. Use it as information to guide your next steps.
    Determining the purpose of the data is also helpful. What is your end goal? Are you looking specifically for growth over time? Achievement? Specific strengths and weaknesses? Decide on the lens you want to look through and view data strategically.
    What you do next in instruction is the most important use of data. Does something need to be adjusted? Do you need to pull in additional resources or strategies that will help students master certain skills? Take stock of what you have at your disposal - collaboration with colleagues, resources, websites, etc. Use those to plan out what to do next. The plan doesn't have to be elaborate. Simply identify what might work best in your content area to help students make progress.
    Go forth and analyze data with confidence! Approaching it with the mindset of what is best for kids will generally not steer you wrong.