Replicating the Relationship between Teachers' Data Use and Student Achievement: The Urban Data Study and the Data Dashboard Usage Study
Author: Faria, Ann-Marie
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Data Analysis,Academic Achievement,Urban Schools,Correlation,Teacher Surveys,Standardized Tests,Scores,Technology Uses in Education,Comparative Analysis,Grade 4,Grade 5,Grade 6,Grade 7,Grade 8,Elementary Schools,Middle Schools,Elementary School Teachers,Middle School Teachers,Data Collection,Administrator Surveys,Principals,Student Records,Hierarchical Linear Modeling,Statistical Analysis

Educators have long used test scores to make educational decisions, but only within the last decade has the availability of data been systematic (Abelman, Elmore, Even, Kenyon, &amp; Marshall, 1999). In recent years, interest has spiked in data-driven decision making in education (Marsh, Pane, &amp; Hamilton, 2006). With technological advances and growing pressure for &quot;data-driven&quot; instruction under accountability reforms, many schools, districts, and states have invested significant resources in tools designed to provide educators with regular access to data (U.S. Department of Education, 2009a; 2009b; 2009c). The increased emphasis on data use is based on the belief that student data can be an important lever for improved teaching and learning. Although the relationship between data use and student achievement has face validity, little empirical evidence links educators' use of data with improved student achievement. One recent study examined the relationship between key dimensions of interim assessment data use and student achievement. The study, known as the &quot;Urban Data Study (UDS),&quot; examined links between educators' data use (measured by teacher self-reported surveys) and student achievement on end-of-year state assessments. This study contributed to the field by defining a conceptual framework for the effective use of data (see Figure 1, for the theory of action that links data use with student achievement), creating new measures of data use practices and providing some early evidence of a relationship between data use and achievement by empirically connecting data use practices to changes in teaching and actual improvements in student outcomes. With initial findings from the UDS suggesting an empirical link between data use and student achievement, the next step was to refine the measurement strategy and expand the type of data examined during educators' data use. The next study in this line of research is the &quot;Student Dashboard Usage Study.&quot; The study examined educators' use of Web-based data dashboard system and employed some of the same methods as the UDS as well as some innovative measurement techniques. The overarching goal of the current study is to compare and contrast findings between the UDS and the &quot;Student Dashboard Usage Study.&quot; This project attempts to replicate findings from the UDS (Faria et al., 2012) to further understand the links between teacher-level data-use practices and student achievement. Both the UDS and the Student Dashboard Usage Study answer the broad research question: &quot;What are the relationships between teachers' data-use practices and their students' achievement?&quot; By examining the findings from both studies together, researchers hope to better understand the relationship between data use and student achievement. Tables and figures are appended.