Apply a set of dos and don'ts when examining school performance data to decide school support options¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The publication offers decisionmakers a practical guidance strategy: as they examine school performance data and consider options for supporting schools, they should keep in mind a set of dos and don'ts. Its purpose is to help states judge "what data they can trust and what inferences they can draw to best understand schools' needs" and to support learning acceleration and recovery decisions.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• State and local decisionmakers must be examining school performance data in the context of accountability and support decisions under resumed ESSA provisions.

Constraints¶

• The guidance is oriented to the post-pandemic 2022 accountability context, when accountability provisions returned after two years of pandemic-related disruptions.

Target Learners¶

• State education agency decisionmakers
• Local education agency decisionmakers

Target Learning Goals¶

• Appropriate interpretation and use of school performance data for identifying schools for targeted or comprehensive support and improvement

Related Strategies¶

• Examine literacy screening data for intersectional differences not apparent from simple disaggregation and consider student and school characteristics together when targeting supports
• Examine data across subgroups and account for diversity within subgroup categories before interpreting score differences
• Educational leaders should examine demographic shifts in the tested student population before making growth and recovery support decisions

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Brian Gill. (2022). Interpreting and Using School Performance Data: Do's and Don'ts for 2022 and Beyond. Institute of Education Sciences, Regional Educational Laboratory Program. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/rel/