In recent years, interest has spiked in data-driven decision making in education--that is, using various types of student data to inform decisions in schools and classrooms. In October 2008, the Council of the Great City Schools and American Institutes for Research (AIR) launched a project funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that focused…

In the present study, an examination is conducted in three school districts of how data are used to improve classroom practice. In doing so, we explore the effects that attitudes toward data, principal leadership, and computer data systems have on how data are used to affect classroom practice. Findings indicate that educators are ambivalent about…

The purpose of this study was to investigate non-mandated data-driven decision making in private/religious schools. The school culture support of data use, teacher use of data, leader facilitation of using data, and the availability of data were investigated in three schools. A quantitative survey research design was used to explore the research…

This article looks at a school management tool that allows school managers and education district offices to review the performance of their schools and use the broad-based data to undertake orchestrated planning with districts planning delivery based on the needs of schools and in support of school improvement plans. The review process also…

In recent years, interest has spiked in data-driven decision making in education--that is, using various types of student data to inform decisions in schools and classrooms. In October 2008, the Council of the Great City Schools and American Institutes for Research (AIR) launched a project funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that focused…

This guide is designed to inform school directors about the value of a data dashboard and to provide information on how districts can create a data dashboard for school directors. A data dashboard is a tool for viewing and analyzing student achievement and performance data. Key data for monitoring student achievement and directing policy level…

This qualitative, multi-case research study examines how leaders use data to inform decisions related to technology use, including how they use enGauge program evaluation data, identifies leadership practices and related contextual factors present in four K-12 public school districts. This research study examines the questions: What are the…

This summary of a recent evaluation of the Minnesota Management Information System (MIS) focuses on problems encountered during its evolution and on options available to solve those problems. A delineation between state and district information needs is provided, with an emphasis on statewide standards for reporting educational needs. (MER)

A preliminary review of findings and implications of social science research utilization among government officials is provided. The data come from face-to-face interviews of 204 persons at the upper levels of decision making in the executive branch of the federal government. Section one presents descriptive data on the diversity of the…

One of a series of sixteen knowledge transformation papers, this paper deals with the nature and extent of use of evaluative data by administrators in vocational education. First, the following conditions which govern the use of the data are described: availability, reliability, credibility, utility, and consistency. Since the legitimacy of most…