Data-Driven Instruction: A Principal's Perspective

Principal Candace Hugee weighs in on the power of quantitative and qualitative data. 

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DR. SHERRISH HOLLOMAN

In my experiences as a classroom teacher, district level administrator, and as a professional development coach, I constantly struggle with the negative connotation often assigned to data. This is especially true in cases where educators see the term "data-driven instruction" as being synonymous with high-stakes testing. As my colleague G. Faith Little notes in Understanding Data: How Does It All Add Up?, data is not just a tool for evaluation — it’s a source of information.

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The meaning of data

There are several major components of data-driven instruction. Understanding not only what they are, but what they mean is important when considering data points and the intended outcome of improving instruction.

Data-driven component	What does it mean?
Reliable baseline data	Provides an information base against which to monitor and assess progress.
S.M.A.R.T. instructional goals	This structure makes it easier to 1) plan relevant learning activities, 2) measure your progress toward achieving the goal, and 3) know when you have met your goal.
Regular formative assessments	These frequent assessments allow teachers to use a variety of instructional strategies to help students reach learning goals.
Professional learning communities	Done well, these teams meet regularly, share expertise, and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students.
Targeted intervention	Diagnostic assessment data can provide a necessary next step to determine the individual student's specific needs

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A principal's perspective
with Candace Hugee

​In Data-Driven Instruction, authors Ben Fenton and Mark Murphy note that “in this era of increased accountability, nearly every principal has begun using data to help drive instructional practices. Principals in the most rapidly improving schools almost always cite data-driven instruction as one of the most important practices contributing to their success. But what exactly does data-driven instruction mean to them, and how do they achieve it?”

I decided to take that question and others to Candage Hugee, Principal at the Urban Assembly School for Collaborative Healthcare. We have been working together for nearly three years, and I have found her experiences and application of data for her school to be most instructive.
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When you hear the words "data-driven instruction", what does that mean to you?
Candace: It means using specific knowledge gained over a specific period of time to inform what you teach and how you will teach. In reality, we use data to guide many of our day-to-day interactions, such as what’s the best phone to purchase or choosing a new car.


What form(s) of data do you find most useful?
I think using multiple forms of data at once — such as teacher observation data, data from standardized tests, and data from formative assessments — is the best way to get a clear picture of the whole child. 


How do you use data to inform instruction?
Oh, I can think of several ways; it can detect challenges students face early, it can predict student achievement, and promote success. Success comes from allowing teachers to make strategic decisions. This year, my staff embarked on the task to vertically and horizontally align our curriculum based on the data available to us.


How important are data-driven decisions within planning and instruction?
They can transform classrooms. Data-driven decisions allow teachers to be more responsive to students, and can help make instruction more relevant and customized. They can also address inequalities in education.


Outside of formal assessments, what other forms of data do you find useful?
It sounds like you're talking about some of those almost intangible things that provide important information about the students. I think attendance gives a particular kind of data about students, but I think participation can sometimes tell us more. For example, if you see a child who is usually very outgoing and for no apparent reason stops engaging — that’s giving us very important data about the social and emotional aspects of their lives.


How do your teachers use data with students in different content areas?
We may have a student that is amazing or very participatory in math, yet very reclusive in social studies. The teachers in these two classrooms have two different reports, two different accounts of the student, but we don't yet know why this is happening. Is it that one teacher uses more multiple choice questions in their assessments? Is it about the time of day the class occurs? The classroom environment? Different data collection systems?

When teachers can come together and talk, we are able to get a better picture of the whole child. We can build a map of how a student engages in different subjects, different classrooms. Then we can begin to understand why they’re engaging differently and why we might be seeing varied results in their learning.
That kind of data is critical; and can be more instructive than standardized testing alone.


What kind of advice do you give to your teachers about how and why they should use data to inform their instruction?    
For me, using data is non-negotiable. Data is an integral part of the reflection process that teachers use to evaluate and shift their instruction. If we want to see progress and growth and avoid the endless hamster wheel of not knowing what to do, data cannot be overlooked. ​

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Current studies indicate that educators in schools with data-focused programs think using data improves their instruction significantly. Very often, these schools have a tendency to gather various forms of data, because they recognize that all forms of data are valuable information. The more information we have, the more informed our decisions can be, and the better our instruction will be for our students. 

BEHAVIOR AS DATA

IDENTIFYING PRODUCTIVE STRUGGLE

RETHINKING BASELINE ASSESSMENTS