Statistician William Edwards Deming once said: “Without data you’re just another person with an opinion.” Data can certainly improve decision-making in education, but it’s not always obvious how such information can be harnessed most effectively.
Here are some key guidelines teachers can follow to make the most of what they collect:
1 Have a clear purpose
There’s little use in gathering data if you don’t have a specific plan for how you want to use it or you’re only doing it because you’ve been told to. Take time to think about the potential of the information you have and what you need from it.
“Ask yourself how you’re going to conduct your assessments on a weekly/termly basis so you feel sure your children are making progress and you can communicate this with them, or so you can identify knowledge gaps,” explains Matthew Woodruff, technical director at technology learning expert The Knowledge Network.
“Think about if the data can help you target interventions better,” he adds.
2 Start simple
If your school doesn’t have effective data processes embedded, or you feel unsure about how best to use data, keep things basic to begin with. Start by setting up a schedule where you input a certain type of data on a regular basis, using a programme you feel familiar with, such as the school’s information management system or Excel.
Focus on specific areas, such as attainment or behaviour. Woodruff recommends looking at a couple of focus points that have been made a priority in the school improvement plan, or which are particularly relevant to your school.
Review the data periodically and use the results to help you plan future lessons based on what you can see is happening and/or working.
3 Think beyond the numbers
This may sound strange, but data is not all about the numbers. Look outside what grades students are getting and consider aspects of their school life such as friendship groups, or what the words they use can tell you about them.
“You might be able to see that one student has engaged with a teacher 27 times about a particular topic, while another has engaged in dialogue about that topic three times. Compare how they did,” says Woodruff. “What does the learning process tell you about how they got from A to B?”
“The more schools move towards this, the more we can look at the wider data to understand how people are interacting and feeling,” he explains.
4 Use data from more than one source
Collate different data sets where possible, advises Chris Downey, a lecturer in education at the University of Southampton and co-author of Using Effectiveness Data for School Improvement. This could potentially be data you have collected about your students alongside data about how past students have responded to particular approaches.
“The more evidence you can put on the table, the greater the chance you can make a well-informed decision,” says Downey.
5 Find out what data is already available to you
You may already be receiving a number of different data sets, but you can also take the initiative to support this information by tapping into other resources.
The Fischer Family Trust, for example, has a website that visualises pupil performance data from the school census programme in an accessible way. There is also information available on the Ofsted School Data Dashboard – the general public can access this, so some knowledge may be useful for conversations with parents.
6 Don’t be afraid to ask questions
Downey recommends becoming familiar with how your school collects and records data, and querying anything you’re unsure about.
Equally, be informed about what will be done with any data you provide, so that you can supply what’s needed to the best of your ability. “When you send data off to someone, ask where it goes, what it’s going to be mixed with, and how it’s going to be used” he says.
7 Communicate and share
Share data with colleagues in your department, and aim for consistency of approach. Saving documents online can give you and others simultaneous access to live data, allow you to share working processes, and prevent multiple versions of the same document appearing.
Also allow relevant individuals outside the school access to the data you collect. “Data belongs to the person who it is about – any data you keep about students should be shared with students. They need to understand it, and so do their parents,” says Woodruff.
8 Paint a picture
To make your findings easy for everyone to understand, use tools that help visualise data more clearly. Microsoft’s Power BI is one example of a programme that makes the process simple. It uses a drag-and-drop canvas and offers a range of different visualisations.
Making data accessible can help many people in the school community. At Oasis Community Learning, for instance, information is organised into local, regional and national dashboards to help those in charge make informed decisions quickly and easily. Visualised data can also be used in conversations with students and parents to show progress and discuss goals. For teachers, it can be used to better identify areas that might need extra teaching time or a different approach.
9 Draw on your colleagues’ expertise
When thinking about helpful resources, identify data savvy people around you. “That’s not just those with technical know-how, but teachers who seem to know how to use it to inform day-to-day practice,” says Downey. Ask them if you’re unsure about how to make sense of some of the information.
10 Be aware of limitations
Data can make you better-informed, but remember that it doesn’t always present the full picture. Higher level data, for example, can be a broad summary of information about a group of students across a year group or a school and shouldn’t be applied directly to individual students, points out Downey.
“Data about the average student won’t necessarily give you what you need. It’s really important to be aware of that,” he says.
Value your own knowledge about your students too, he adds, and use that in conjunction with the data you’re presented with to make decisions.
