Data based decision making

The the advent of NCLB came a new era in the use of data to measure public schools. While there was, and continues to be, great lamentations and gnashing of teeth about how the data are used, for those who have had to participate in sub-par educational institutions it was a welcomed breeze the confirmed something was rotten. However, it is precisely the “how” that is the issue. Simply having the information, in and of itself, is insufficient. Action must be taken to address what the data have elucidated. Slavin et.al. found school wide improvement in student achievement after two years of data review IF effective pedagogical practices were implemented. Using data and http://www.bestevidence.org/ schools were able to find the best proven intervention to address the needs of students. This aligns to my own research findings of high performing schools. Data knowledge is a common attribute of all high performing schools. Having high expectations and implementing effective practices based upon that knowledge is the next step.