Publications

From Vision to Action:
How School Districts Use Data to Improve Performance
Executive Summary (PDF)

With the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001, schools are expected to provide a standards based curriculum for students to attain math and reading proficiency and demonstrate progress each year. NCLB requires more frequent student testing with publicly reported results in an effort to close the achievement gap and to inform parents, teachers, administrators of student progress. Meeting these ambitious accountability goals requires transparency in the workings of the organization and the cooperation of everyone involved in the education of each student.

These mandates have accelerated change already underway in the nation’s schools and in the teaching profession. Leading school districts have developed advanced technological systems and professional expertise for analyzing data to deliver timely information for the improvement of operations and instruction. They have embarked upon a process of using data in decision making at all levels of the organization, borrowing management models from business and from each other.

Published in 2003, Vision to Know and Do: The Power of Data as a Tool in Educational Decision Making defined a vision for continuous improvement, identified leadership districts creating a climate for change, and reviewed the implementation of systems and processes to enable data-driven decision making (DDDM). From Vision to Action: How School Districts Use Data to Improve Performance moves beyond the vision and visits districts that are acting on their data, testing the process, and seeing improvement in student learning.

The paper draws from interviews with more than 30 experts in the field, including teachers, principals, district administrators, entrepreneurs, consultants, researchers, and other professionals. Additional interviews were conducted with multiple stakeholders from three school districts to better understand how data-driven decision making is used throughout the organization. Profiles of Lemon Grove School District (CA), Fulton County Schools (GA), and Cleveland Municipal School District (OH) at the end of the paper show how different school districts use data throughout their organizations.

School Districts Using DDDM and Described in This Report

District	Schools	Grades	Population
Pearl River School District, NY	5	K-12	2,591
Lemon Grove School District, CA	8	K-8	4,588*
Palo Alto Unified School District, CA	17	K-12	10,341*
Consolidated Community School District 15, IL	20	K-8	13,057*
Beaufort County School District, SC	26	K-12	18,500
Grossmont Union High School District, CA	18	9-12	24,447*
Plano Independent School District, TX	65	K-12	52,063
Cleveland Municipal School District, OH	125	K-12	69,000*
Fulton County Schools, GA	88	K-12	75,188
Montgomery County Public Schools, MD	192	K-12	140,492
Clark County School District, NV	301	K-12	280,600

*Indicates 2003-2004 enrollment. Other enrollment statistics are projections for 2004-05.

These school districts have proven the value of data as an asset to the learning organization and paved the road for more districts to pursue data-driven decision making. They have developed processes to use objective data measures to determine resource allocations, instructional strategies, and professional development. District and school teams define goals and objectives based on standards, measures, and community needs, then use data to test their assumptions and track progress throughout the year.

As data-driven decision making becomes integral to the educational institution, it is transforming the role of the teacher. The doors to the classroom have opened. Assessments throughout the year monitor all students’ progress. Teachers team together to share strategies, goals, and student plans with principals, site support staff, and district administrators as well as students themselves and their parents. The best instructors have always held themselves accountable. Now they have the tools and information to share their success with the whole organization.

From Vision to Action: How School Districts Use Data to Improve Performance is written for school district leaders and K-12 educators who are seeking ways to implement a data-driven decision making process. All districts can benefit from the efforts of these leading school districts. DDDM is not a one-time implementation, but a commitment to continuous improvement. Each year instructional and administrative teams become more sophisticated in what they want to know and more expert in how they use their knowledge. Data-driven decision making frames a vision for what is possible and creates a plan for action: the vision to know and do.

A Table of Contents for the paper is as follows:

• Acknowledgments
• About CoSN
• Major CoSN Initiatives
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Leadership in a Learning Organization
  • Goals of a Learning Organization
  • Common Language and Common Purpose
  • The Team Approach to Success
  • At the District Level
  • At the Site level
  • Managing Through the J-Curve
• From Data Collection to Analysis to Action
  • Full Visibility: Data Collection and Integration
  • To Know: Data Analysis
  • And Do: Using the Data
• Sustainable Data-driven Decision Making
  • Fulton County Schools, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Lemon Grove School District, Lemon Grove, CA
  • Cleveland Municipal School District, Ohio
• What the Future Holds for DDDM
• Appendix
  • Interviews
  • Resources
  • School District Web sites

Vision to Know and Do:
The Power of Data as a Tool in Educational Decision Making
Executive Summary (PDF)

This new paper focuses on the successful practice of school districts that have transformed their organizations to respond to the needs of all students and provide community accountability. It highlights those school districts using data analysis systems to improve student outcomes; identifies factors for successfully integrating data into decision making processes, and; calls for more emphasis on data-driven decision making as a way to prepare students for the 21st century.

A Table of Contents for the paper is as follows:

• Acknowledgments
• Putting Data in an Education Context
  • External Demands for Data, Internal Opportunity
  • Improving Outcomes for All Children
  • Transforming the Organization
• Data Rich Districts: Models for Continuous Improvement
  • Chugach School District: Rural Response to Local Expectations
  • Pearl River School District: Students Choose Public Schools
  • Community Consolidated School District 15: Integrated Planning
  • Montgomery County School District: Daily Activities Tied to Vision
  • Poway Unified School District: Data to the Desktop
  • Panhandle Area Education Consortium: Teacher Learning Plans
  • Profiles of Progress
• Making it Happen: Integrating Data into the Decision Making Equation
  • Implementation Scale and Scope
  • What to Gather
  • Cleaning Up the Data
  • Reporting Out and User Queries
  • Cost of Adoption: TCO Factors
  • Professional Development
  • Don't Go It Alone
• New Challenges and High Expectations
  • New Accountability
  • Education in a New Century
• Sources
  • Web Links and Articles
  
  

Printed copies of the paper can also be ordered via CoSN's online Catalog.

CoSN Compendium

(www.cosn.org/resources/compendium/)

Articles are available to be downloaded for free to current CoSN Members. Non-members and members wishing to receive extra copies of the Compendium can also purchase it for a nominal fee.