School Data: 4 Ways to Maximize the Big Picture

Published February 6, 2024 on District Administration

In the face of ongoing challenges posed by pandemic learning disruptions, K12 schools are recognizing the increasing importance of data in their efforts to drive positive change. District leaders are grappling with such issues as opportunity gaps, chronic absenteeism, educator burnout and funding constraints. The encouraging news is that state and district leaders, educators, and families now have access to an array of powerful tools that can support them on this journey, and one such tool is integrated data.

Data, particularly integrated data, helps educational leaders gain valuable insights and make informed decisions to enhance student outcomes, optimize resource allocation and communicate effectively with stakeholders. As a data scientist, I have had the privilege of collaborating with districts, schools and administrators across the nation to help them extract actionable insights from their data to help improve communication and facilitate better student outcomes.

Together, we work towards bridging the gap between data and decision-making, empowering educators to leverage the full potential of data-informed communication for the benefit of K-12 students. Here are four ways that schools and districts can effectively use data to support student success:

1. School data shows the big picture

Access to quality and comprehensive data allows educators and administrators to monitor and assess the academic performance of students within their school district. It provides insights into individual and group achievement, identifying areas of strength and areas that need improvement. By analyzing this data, superintendents can make informed decisions to enhance teaching strategies, curriculum development, and resource allocation.

Student and school data are often scattered across different platforms or manual spreadsheets. From grades and attendance to state assessments, benchmarks, and discipline logs, crucial insights and areas requiring attention can easily go unnoticed when data resides in separate silos. Implementing school analytics and communications platforms that integrate with existing district systems and data sources, and consolidate data into one cohesive view can provide a more comprehensive look at real-time data trends at the district, school, and student level.

For instance, when exam and attendance data are displayed together on a single platform, administrators can identify students who have been chronically absent while simultaneously assessing the impact of these absences on academic outcomes. At-risk profiles can be refined, incorporating multiple criteria, and the relationships between variables can be explored and uncovered. Early identification allows for timely intervention and targeted support services to help these students succeed.

I recently collaborated with a district to customize its at-risk feature, which is intended to help educators identify students at risk of dropping out or not graduating on time. The district leadership team had previously met, identified their primary areas of concern, and established criteria for which variables to include in the risk profile as well as associated thresholds for earning higher points on the risk scale. Wrap-around support and social wellbeing were a core part of this district’s 4-year strategic plan, so they had already contracted with a vendor to collect information on students’ social-emotional learning. We were able to incorporate this data into the risk feature in addition to academic-focused data we already integrated for the district. The final result was a more robust at-risk feature that the leadership team felt better addressed the unique needs of scholars in their district.

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