Jeffrey C. Wayman

Organizational considerations in establishing the Data-Informed District

In the United States, effective data use is proving to be a vexing problem. In response, scholars have recently begun viewing this as a systemic problem, believing there are actions a school district may take to make data use more efficient and tenable throughout the organization. In this article, we add to the knowledge of how school organizations can more effectively use data for educational improvement. Through the lens of the Data-Informed District, we leverage the research on organizational improvement and data use to discuss 3 specific organizational areas in which these districts may improve: establishing common understandings, professional learning for using data, and computer data systems.

Implementation of a Data Initiative in the NCLB Era

Over the past decade, school districts in the United States have wrestled with the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This policy mandated improved student achievement for all, in part through a more widespread and sophisticated use of student data. The law placed strong incentives for districts to parse individual and collective student performance and use it to improve instruction.

A Look into the Workings of Data Use in a Mid-Sized District

Abstract The effective use of student data has gained increasing attention in the past 10 years. Although district leaders would like to support data use and improvement, exactly how to go about such work systemically is often unclear. Accordingly, the aim of this chapter is to illuminate the inner workings of data use throughout a mid-sized school district. In doing so, we highlight issues in how data were used and supported, and provide discussion about how districts such as this one may improve data use throughout the district.

Longitudinal Effects of Teacher Use of a Computer Data System on Student Achievement

Does data use make a difference in student achievement? Despite the field’s optimism on this matter, relatively few studies have attempted to quantify the effects of data use. These studies have often used the presence of a data use intervention (e.g., a data system or data coaching) as a proxy for use, as opposed to tracking teachers’ direct interactions with data, via data system click logs, for example. Accordingly, the present study sought to address this methodological gap by exploring the 2-year effects of data use through a multilevel cross-classified model of teachers’ system interactions and student achievement. A significant relationship was found between system use and elementary reading, but no significant relationships were found for elementary math, junior high math, or junior high reading. The implications of this study on how to conceptualize and measure use, as well as how to support practitioners, are discussed.

Data System Implementation: A Leader Navigates People Problems around Technology and Data Use.

Computer data systems have become a lynchpin to supporting school data use. However, successfully implementing such systems is no easy task. In this case, readers explore the ways in which “technology problems” and “people problems” can be intertwined. The case follows Dr. Molly Winters as she encounters social and organizational challenges relating to district vision, tensions around data use, and tensions involving technology implementation. Her exploration of these issues spans both the school and district levels. Her goal is to analyze and provide recommendations regarding how to support data system use and school improvement throughout her district.