Traditionally, data collected in schools have been used to assess student performance. But with the growing decentralization of power in most districts, educators are more likely to rely on data to help them make better choices and uncover better ways of serving students and the community. Educators routinely evaluate reading, writing, and math achievement, but they rarely assess management skills, individual learning styles, or other elements that may affect student achievement. The goal is to enable educators to collect accurate information on students so they can make adjustments to teaching styles or curricula to gain measurable improvements. Students experiencing difficulty can be identified and helped earlier than is currently possible.
Data are endemic in educational settings.
The challenge is to analyze the information and use it wisely. These data include statistics on attendance, grades, referrals, retentions, and standardized-test results. When compiled and reported on a regular basis, archival data provide a baseline of school operations and can be used to make comparisons among similar schools. With minimal effort, these data can often be disaggregated or broken down. Often done by grade, gender, race, or socioeconomic background, disaggregation can reveal previously unrecognized patterns that, in turn, may suggest areas in need of improvement.