Linking Data and Learning: The Grow Network Study

Evaluating Education Information Systems: Implementation of Longitudinal Student Data Systems in Six School Districts

“…Teachers may also be able to use education information systems to evaluate their own instructional practice. Analyses of class performance might help teachers better understand their own strengths and weaknesses, and plan for appropriate professional development activities, as has been observed in several districts (Brunner et al 2005;Supovitz and Klein 2003). Teachers might also evaluate their instructional practice and identify promising methods to pursue further (Codding and Connell 2009).…”

“…With a more detailed understanding of each student's progress, teachers can hopefully better discuss the information with parents (Brunner et al 2005;Gallagher, Means, and Padilla 2008). Teachers can also discuss student progress and instructional strategies with each other as well as with school staff and administrators (Brunner et al 2005).…”

Distributed leadership as a mediator of whole school reform strategies for improvement planning from data.

“…For this to happen, educators realized the need for training (Chen, Heritage, & Lee, 2005;Choppin, 2002;Conrad & Eller, 2003;Cromey, 2000;Datnow, Park & Wohlstetner, 2007) to know how to interpret and apply data for improvement planning. Brunner, et al (2005) examined New York City'S public school systems efforts to use data in the decision making process. They described ongoing, unprecedented, and extensive professional development that was needed to build capacity for this work.…”

“…Armstrong and Anthes (2001) documented that schools that compared their scores to other schools with like demographics but higher scores, were highly motivated to improve teaching and learning for their own students. Brunner, et al (2005) stated that teachers even used data given from a specialized program (Grow Report) to align relevant professional development sessions. This helped them to become more knowledgeable about how to improve their instruction in areas of student need.…”

“…This data were then used to develop new instructional strategies for those students missing the benchmark. Brunner, et al (2005) investigated uses of The Grow Report © and found that teachers used this data tool to monitor their students' performance and make adjustments such as assigning students to groups, differentiating or individualizing instruction, and even as documentation to support creation of Individual Education Plans. In 2005, Pennsylvania did not have a statewide data analysis system that could adequately track student data.…”