Data use and decision-making--these two phrases have appeared together in probably hundreds of education articles and have been the topic of a host of presentations during the past decade. In addition, research studies have confirmed the importance of data-informed decision-making to school improvement. Thus, school leaders have found it makes…

A principal may have implemented a program that boasted glowing reports but didn't live up to its promise. The cause of this disparity could be that the program didn't match the school's and students' needs in terms of the curricular focus or that previous results were more positive than warranted. However, another possibility could be that the…