In the Collect rung we will collect relevant and high-quality data.

• Relevant: Relevant data include data that will help you answer "what is happening?" and "why?". Some data that will likely be needed includes:
  • Outcome data to measure success
  • Implementation data to understand your fidelity in following the plan you set
  • Other factors that come to mind as having an effect on the outcome
• High-Quality: High-Quality data include data that we can trust and depend on. This includes checking that data is valid and collected with fidelity.
  • Valid: The measurement system is capturing what we are after. For example note using a phonics assessment to measure growth in vocabulary.
  • Fidelity: Data is collected as intended according to the specification of the measurement system.

Sometimes collecting data will include well defined measurement systems such as the common assessments. Other times data collection might be less formal, for example a show of hands at a staff meeting. Less formal forms of data are okay and will sometimes be all that is possible. Even in these cases though we want to check that the data is relevant and high-quality.

The Collect rung is when we gather the raw data that we will need in later rungs to answer "what is happening?" and "why?" for the goals processes and actions of focus that we Decided we want to learn more about.

Before we can use data to answer "what is happening?" and "why?", first we have to have data.