Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making

Data provide a way to assess what students are learning and the extent to which students are making progress toward goals. In this paper, What Works Clearinghouse describes how data can provide educators with the information to make instructional changes to improve student achievement. The paper includes a list of recommendations for effectively using data to make instructional decisions. The recommendations include the following: make data part of an ongoing cycle of instructional improvement, teach students to examine their own data and set learning targets, establish a clear vision for schoolwide data use, provide supports that foster data-driven culture within the school, and develop and maintain a districtwide data system.