This course guides the school leader in effective use and analysis of data to improve student achievement, enhancing skills as an instructional leader and improving teacher effectiveness. The course aligns with the following Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) (NPBEA – 2015):
PSEL Standard 4, Curriculum Instruction, and Assessment(g):
Effective leaders use assessment data appropriately and within technical limitations to monitor student progress and improve instruction.”
PSEL Standard 9, Operations and Management(g):
Effective leaders develop and maintain data and communication systems to deliver actionable information for classroom and school improvement.”
PSEL Standard 10, Continuous Improvement(g):
Effective leaders develop technically appropriate systems of data collection, management, analysis, and use, connecting as needed to the district office and external partners for support in planning, implementation, monitoring, feedback, and evaluation.”
This course defines and clarifies various types of student achievement data and reviews the types of visual representations of the data. Critically, it presents ways to interpret these visual representations, focusing on the issues presented by the data that should be addressed in setting curriculum and classroom improvement plans.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Identify data types and sources relevant to increasing student achievement.
- Disaggregate, organize, and manage student and teacher data.
- Guide and encourage teachers and staff in using data effectively, through identification and analysis of relevant data.
- Use and foster data-driven decision making for continuous school improvement.
Lessons contain exercises that you will be asked to complete, and resources you can use for continuous learning. Use a personal journal to record your completed exercises and document your learning in this course. This guide can assist you with creating your personal journal. Your school district facilitator may request you submit your personal journal to show proof of course completion. Direction on where to submit your finished journal will be provided by your district facilitator, should they require it.
Select a lesson from the table of contents below to begin your learning. Lessons do not need to be completed in sequence. The pre-test and post-test are optional. If you would like to receive a certificate of completion, you must mark each lesson as complete.