Data Analysis Protocols

As we continue to review results of ISASP along with data collected from unit assessments, common formative assessments, math and literacy assessments, etc., this is a good time to revisit some of our data analysis protocols.  In a day and age where we have access to more information and data than ever before, the most important aspect is what we do and how we act upon the data we have.  A process of analyzing data can help teams focus their efforts and actions on key ideas.  Robert Eaker and Janel Keating suggest an agenda for a grade-level teacher team looking at the results of an assessment given to all students. They suggest about five minutes for each item, with more time for two toward the end:

-   What are the “priority standards” or learning targets measured by this assessment?

-   In what areas did our students do well?

-   What instructional strategies helped our students do well?

-   What skill deficiencies do we see?

-   What patterns do we see in the mistakes, and what do they tell us?

-   Which students did not master essential standards and which need additional time and support?

-   What interventions will be provided to address unlearned skills, and how will we check for success? (20 minutes)

-   Which students mastered standards and what is our plan for extending and enriching their learning? (10 minutes)

-   Do we need to tweak or improve this assessment?

Every School, Every Team, Every Classroom: District Leadership for Growing Professional Learning Communities at Work by Robert Eaker and Janel Keating (Solution Tree, 2012)

As we began our collaborative work, many teachers were trained in the data teams protocol.  The template below helped guide teams through this process.

Southeast Polk Data Teams Template

As we expanded our structure to include teacher leadership, we revised our process to include the analysis of student work.  This added a support structure that included the instructional coach and model teachers.

SEP Analysis of Student Work Template

As teams implemented these protocols and attended the PLC Institutes, they began to revise and develop their own processes for looking at data.  This is a much encouraged practice as it meets the specific needs of each team/department/building, and contributes to teacher efficacy. It is not what protocol we use, but that we have one.

The work from the PLC Institutes reminds us that there are 2 main questions our data analysis protocols should address:

• What does this data tell us?
• What are we going to do about it?

Our data analysis protocols help us answer PLC questions 3 and 4 and remind us that the impact of gathering data is the extent to which it changes instructional practice.  The purpose of these assessments is to identify what we need to adjust so all students will meet the standards.

• What will we do when students do not learn?
• What will we do if they already know it?

If your collaborative team has a data analysis protocol that works for you and your students, keep using it!  If you have a new team, or are looking at ways to make the process more efficient and/or more effective, you may want to look at some of the protocols below to add to or replace elements in order to strengthen your process.  

These templates and more are available in the folder at the link below:

Data Analysis Protocols

If you have a protocol that you use as a team that you would like to share, please send it to me and I will add it to this folder.  We hope that these resources will continue to support your dedicated efforts to use data to improve student learning.