It is essential for schools to collect data. It plays a role in making the best next move. For example, some data collection can tell a school what improvements need to take place, create target goals, show improved behavior and reveal what days students are absent the most. However, collecting the right data is the first. The second step is being able to understand it. Our school had an entire professional development over understanding how to read the data and numbers. Sometimes as teachers, we go straight to, “What do we do?” without really seeing what the data is trying to tell us. The teams of teachers and staff have to have common goals in order to collect the right data. For example, our school wants to improve attendance, so we are collecting data on which grade has lowest daily attendance. From there, many steps must follow. Collecting this data is also important because it must be transparent to all people involved. The data can be in a Google doc or through conversations that have been documented. Either way, it must be consistent for teachers and staff to get a clear picture. Since data drives so many next steps in a school, it is essential to get accurate and transparent data that can be acted on.
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AuthorJoanna Schaefer: Teacher, educator and learner! Enjoy the adventure and make sure you learn something on the journey! Archives
May 2015
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