How should data from assessments be used to inform teaching and learning?
Without a doubt, data should be used to transform our teaching practices, so that we can effectively boost achievement of all students. According to Schmoker (2009), in the age of data-driven decision making “teachers have learned that data help us identify priorities for improvement” (p. 71). However, he also notes that fixating on data from standardized tests hinders instructional improvement since, in order to raise scores, teachers abandon “authentic teaching and learning” in favor of test-prep activities, a long-term practice that lead to an “unpleasant discovery [that s]chools and even whole states could make steady gains on standardized tests without offering students intellectually challenging tasks” (Schmoker, 2009, p. 72).
This finding, naturally, raises questions not only about the purpose of classroom instruction, but also about the purpose of our assessments and what we hope to gain from the data we collect.
Clearly, we cannot rely only on one type of data to inform teaching and learning. Besides academic data about students’ achievement and progress that can be gathered through formative (informal) and summative (formal) assessments, we need to consider non-academic factors that affect learning, such as “the home, community, the student’s identity, and the school and the classroom” (Shearer, Carr, & Vogt, 2019, p. 113).
How should data be shared with parents?
Shearer, Carr, and Vogt (2019) advocate that “all stakeholders, including teachers and families, must have an equal voice in dimensions related to testing,” as the complexity of literacy processes requires that assessments capture that which is “important about reading and writing” (p. 127). It goes without saying that, when sharing data with families, teachers should interpret it with a focus on vital aspects of their child’s literacy profile, identifying their strengths, weaknesses, needs, learning goals, and any necessary interventions. Whether they are sharing test scores, portfolio samples, or observation notes, teachers should explain how these assessments reflect the student’s developing literacy skills with a view toward their importance and authentic application in the real world.
How should teachers use data to inform their teaching practices?
Both sets of student-level data, academic and non-academic, should be regarded in terms of how well they are accommodated by the classroom context. Shearer, Carr, and Vogt (2019) refer to this as context matching (p. 113), which can be restated as finding the right fit between a particular student and the instructional practices of a particular teacher. (For example, does instruction adequately address a student’s weaknesses and capitalize on his/her strengths? Is instruction relevant and does it take into consideration students’ experiences and life outside of school, their cultural and socio-economic backgrounds?) Only then can teachers have a complete and adequate understanding of the effects of their instruction on the learner, in order to make necessary adjustments and modifications.
Researchers from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) recommend that teachers “use data from multiple sources to set goals, make curricular and instructional choices, and allocate instructional time” (Hamilton et al., 2009, p. 8). They also advise teachers to teach students to examine their own data and set goals for learning, which further reinforces the need for including multiple perspectives into classroom-level instructional decisions.
What does it look like when assessment is used effectively?
Hamilton et al. (2009) state that “effective data use at the classroom level is more likely to emerge when it is supported by a data-informed school and district culture” (p. 8). In such educational environments, shared expectations and practices related to data use address teachers’ instructional needs and goals, while considering students’ literacy development and achievement in an authentic and comprehensive manner. In other words, when assessment is used effectively, teachers willingly collaborate on data collection and interpretation, seeing it “not as one more thing they have to do, but as a means to support them in instruction” (Shearer, Car, & Vogt, 2019, p. 131). This, in turn, benefits all students, as it prompts teachers to go beyond discrete data, to closely examine their beliefs, preferences, and possible biases regarding data and instruction, their approaches to assessment, as well as their teaching practices.
References:
Hamilton, L., Halverson, R. Jackson, S., Mandinach, E., Supovitz, J., & Wayman, J. (2009). Using student achievement data to support instructional decision making (NCEE 2009-4067) Washington, DC. National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publications/practiceguides/
Schmoker, M. (2009). Measuring what matters. Educational Leadership, 66(4), 70-74.
Shearer, B. A., Carr, D. B., & Vogt, M. (2019). Reading specialists and literacy coaches in the real world (4th ed.). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.
Aleksandra's Literacy Blog 
Hi Aleksandra, Thanks for the thorough treatment of data.
Perhaps, your school is already doing these parent activities but both teachers and administration find them invaluable. At St Thomas, we tend to not only educate children but parents, also.
So this is what we do to share data with parents:
(1) At the second Parent Teachers Assembly (held in early evening with just parents) we have our Test Administrator share A. what tests will be taken, B. for what purpose, C. how the data (we say how scores will be used), and D.how to prepare the child for upcoming tests, such as, ample sleep, food for energy, and talk sessions with the child to alleviate anxiety and anxiousness about the tests.
At this time, the Test Administrator shares any new legislation from the feds or state board that will impact tests for the coming year. We get a lot of questions on this aspect.
Important to parents, we found, is how the scores will impact their grades or moving on to the next grade.
The Test Administrator along with other school leaders also develops a current overview of tests for each grade in booklet form which is given to parents, so they have a in-hand reference. The Test Booklet for each grade can be found on the school’s website, in case a parent misplaces the hard copy.
(2) All digital test data is place on our school’s website, so parents know how the third graders did in comparison to last three years’ third graders, how they compare to other schools’ third graders and how they compare nationally. This transparency also exposes—US–that is how good are we at what we do. Now we just don’t provide a bunch of percentiles; we explain the reasoning and logic for the test, as well.
(3) We hold Parent Workshops every 16 weeks and one of the topics is always testing in some form. The workshops are held on Saturdays and last two hours maximum. Our turn out is usually sixty to eighty percent. Our superintendent always says that if we can’t get a parent one way, we will try another way.
(4) We have Parent-Sit-Ins each semester; they entail parents who visit the classroom and become ‘the students of the day’. Teachers are mandated to perform some type of test taking, so parents get a ‘real feel’ to what their child experiences from day to day. Some parents do well on the tests, while others do not. We are glad about this, because it brings home to parents how their child must be prepared academically and non-academically for test taking.
These vehicles not only help us to share data with parents but provide information about realistic understanding of what data means and its impact with their child.
Thanks again for your invaluable contribution in this blog.
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Thanks for your reply, Stephania. Our small school does not have a test administrator or any designated person that shares information on testing with parents as a whole. Being a Catholic school, we choose to do NWEA MAP tests, but our students do not participate in other state mandated standardized tests.
You offer a wealth of ideas and a great template for sharing information with students’ families. I especially like the Parent-Sit-Ins, as they can really show parents what their children go through, from the obvious logistics to the less visible stress of testing. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me.
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Hi Aleksandra,
This statement particularly stood out to me “Whether they are sharing test scores, portfolio samples, or observation notes, teachers should explain how these assessments reflect the student’s developing literacy skills with a view toward their importance and authentic application in the real world.”
I think that sometimes we put so much emphasis on testing and test scores, that we don’t have time for the real world application. When students and their parents fail to see a real world connection to what we do in school, it loses value. I think that Stephania’s school does a great job on educating parents on what these test scores actually mean, and how they apply to each child.
It’s also important to remember (as you point out), that standardized test scores are one form of data. If we want to truly understand our students, we need to look at a variety of their work.
Thanks!
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Aleksandra,
Taking student experiences, life outside of school, culture and socio-economic background into consideration is so important when it comes to instruction. This non academic data is so important. My own school has recently had a huge shift in demographics and steadily declining scores. The administration in my building has really shifted their thinking in regard to looking at test scores only
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I think your comment about involving parents is so important. Assessments and data can be very complex, and it is important to properly involve and educate parents so they know what they are actually looking and and what it means.
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