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Strategies to Build Data Analysis Skills – And Gain the Confidence to Apply Them in the Classroom

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The state of education today is driven by strict academic standards and rigorous assessment of student achievement. K-12 teachers are tasked with helping students demonstrate grade-level proficiency and growth against the standards while addressing varied learning needs. Regular testing, including formative, interim, and summative assessments, helps identify what students have mastered, where gaps exist, and where support may be needed. The robust data these assessments reveal provide a road map for student success at the classroom, school, and district levels.  

If Everything is Important, Nothing Is

Consider the popular management adage: If everything is important, nothing is important. A plethora of student data means little to stakeholders if it isn’t credible, focused, and carefully analyzed. It’s vital to use trustworthy assessments that have a clear purpose, and teach educators how to interpret the assessment data, so they can build the confidence to use it in the classroom.

“It’s not that teachers don’t like data, it’s just that there’s so much data that it’s a matter of knowing what data should be used and when,” explains Jennifer Fletcher, Ph.D., Assistant Superintendent of PreK-12 Student Services for the Chandler Unified School District #80. “We have to provide support for teachers to help them build that confidence and understand that they’re not alone.”

A key way to build trust with teachers is to be transparent about the capabilities—and limitations—of assessments. “We never want to oversell the impact or capabilities of an assessment,” says Dr. Laine Bradshaw, Executive Partner, Measurement & Learning at Pearson. “It’s important that we communicate what it is designed for and what it can and cannot do.” High-quality, standard-aligned assessments that don’t over-promise and careful analysis of their results ultimately benefit a wide range of learners and improve instruction. 

Strategies and Support Systems That Build Data Literacy

Next, it’s vital to help teachers build data-analysis skills so they can use this information in the classroom to make instructional decisions and create clear, transparent reporting that communicates purpose and limitations. While state-mandated academic content standards are consistent, rigor and proficiency expectations vary among educators. Therefore, it makes sense to harness the collective power to develop strategies that support teachers' understanding of the standards, assessments, and data. 

These supports can come in the form of:

  • District-wide professional development opportunities that help to ensure a level playing field. Professional learning builds skills around standards alignment, assessment literacy, and instructional response to data.
  • Data visualization systems that provide classroom learning data and compare areas of strengths and needs at a school and across the district.
  • Grade-level professional learning communities (PLCs) and department chairs that work together to interpret data and then implement classroom interventions. PLC conversations can help to identify standards gaps, group students for support, and adjust classroom instruction.

Each of these support systems allows teachers to see their own strengths and growth opportunities, as well as those of their students, which then helps administrators, department chairs, and the district to support their growth as educators and learners. “District and site leadership that value data and the need to create plans help drive success at their school, which teachers can then do individually for their students,” adds Dr. Fletcher. “It’s a cohesive system of data love.”

The companies that develop K-12 assessments are also a key source of information and training. “We offer implementation support for all of our assessments, including onboarding sessions to explain what the test is designed to do, and contextual supports that help teachers interpret and act on assessment data,” notes Dr. Bradshaw. “But what's super powerful is when we also walk with our teachers and leaders on their journey of implementation. When teachers and administrators have the student and school data in hand, we’re able to dig into what they feel the data is saying and how they want to act on it.” This data interpretation and context help drive an understanding of what the assessment is telling the education team, and motivate students to succeed. 

“For further proof that assessments are truly improving education, we run large scale case studies at the school, district, and state levels, using the gold standard of statistical modeling, to show that when you use data in a formative assessment system, and implement that system with fidelity and in a healthy way, you will see students improve on outcomes, like state assessments,” explains Dr. Bradshaw.

Creating Inclusive Feedback Loops with Data

Rather than thinking of data as just numbers, it may be helpful for teachers to consider how they can create a story from the data that provides a full picture of the child. This can help caregivers, teachers, administrators, and students themselves understand grade-level proficiency, growth areas, and next learning steps. A teacher may observe that a student is generally struggling with math, for example, but without assessment data, it’s harder to understand the exact standard they need to master.

Likewise, educators and test developers are finding that students are taking ownership of their education and the specifics of what they need to master, as reflected in their test scores. “Having this data takes the mystery out of the course—such as 5th grade math—and breaks it down into specific skills they’re learning to help them focus on a goal. They truly get excited when they’ve met that goal,” adds Dr. Bradshaw.

Dr. Fletcher drives home the importance of creating systems that include all stakeholders: “Not only do we define the assessment and its purpose, but we tell you when it's supposed to happen and what we expect your child’s teacher to learn from that data, to help your student succeed. Parent involvement is important, but we also love to involve the student in their growth. We conduct parent-student-teacher conferences early and have upfront data available so that everyone can be a part of the student’s support system.”

Dr. Bradshaw concurs. “That truly is at the core of continuous improvement. If we can’t identify and communicate where we are, then we don’t know where to go next.”

To learn more about how Pearson's reliable, innovative educational assessments help teachers and learners succeed from early childhood through post-secondary education, check out the Educational Assessments page.