November 2015 Ed Leadership Magazine: Doing Data Right
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Feature Articles
Perspectives / From Stupid to Smart? byMarge Scherer
Five (Good) Ways to Talk About Data by Amanda Datnow and Vicki Park. Essential components of successful conversations about data.
Are We Motivating Students with Data? by Caitlin C. Farrell, Julie A. Marsh and Melanie Bertrand. Do your data practices deflate or inspire students?
How PLCs Do Data Right by Richard DuFour. Four questions to ask to make sure that data collection leads to student learning.
What Data Dashboards Can Do by Robert Rothman. A look at how districts and states are benefiting from using dashboards—and the kinds of indicators that feed student achievement
Going Quantitative (But Using Common Sense) by Robert Traver. How educators tailored their SMART goals to their instruction and (surprisingly) found the process practical.
The Challenge of Data Privacy by Khaliah Barnes. What safeguards do we have and what else is needed to protect student privacy?
How to Share Data with Families by Lorette McWilliams and Christine Patton. Strengthen your partnership with families by explaining the data they need.
Dramatically Improving Attendance by Jessica Sprick, Jake Alabiso and Kim Yore. What one school found when it mined its attendance metrics.
Toward Systemwide Change by Victoria L. Bernhardt. By looking at the whole picture—from student learning to school processes, demographics to perceptions—a school shifts from compliance to improvement.
Who's in the Driver's Seat? by Steven Levy. Expeditionary Learning schools show how to gather evidence of such intangible goals as quality and character.
Eliminating the Blame Game by Kristen Swanson, Gayle Allen and Rob Mancabelli. It's human to look for the human behind an error, but there's a better way to solve problems.
Commentary / RTI: What Teachers Know That Computers Don't by Karen Engels. Teachers should not so completely rely on standardized data that they lose confidence in their own expertise.
Columns / Departments
Double Take: Reviews, research, and relevant reads.
Research Says / Mindsets Are Key to Effective Data Use by Bryan Goodwin. Why is it that even with good information, we make bad decisions?
Show & Tell: A Video Column / Don't Just Gather Data—Use It by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey. How to improve your exit slips and response cards.
The Techy Teacher / Using Data to Personalize Learning by Catlin Tucker. Online quizzes and grade books help students understand exactly what they need to do to improve.
Principal Connection / Amazon and the Whole Teacher by Thomas R. Hoerr. The difference between a cutthroat culture and a demanding one.
One to Grow On / Different Data, Different Roles by Carol Ann Tomlinson. How to balance standardized data with formative data.
Tell Me About … / An Obstacle You Encountered in Using Data
EL Takeaways: Eight Data Points to Ponder
ADDITIONAL ONLINE CONTENT
Getting to the Why and How by Jason Brasel, Brette Garner, Britnie Kane and Ilana Horn. Making sense of student data to improve math instruction.
Eight Steps to Becoming Data Wise by Maren E. Oberman and Kathryn Parker Boudett. Here's how school-based teams get the most out of their data-inquiry meetings.
How Report Design Makes or Breaks Data Use by Jenny Grant Rankin. What should a school leader look for in data reports?
EL Study Guide by Naomi Thiers
EL Interview: Daniel R. Venables discusses why teachers find it challenging to use data and how teams can use data to explore student learning.