Joseph P. McDonald reports findings from a study of nine poverty-impacted schools in New York City striving to more effectively use student performance data in teaching. The study was one of 13 studies of data use at the classroom level across the United States funded by the Spencer Foundation -- an effort intended to fill a serious gap in…

Drawing on ethnographic research from a small urban high school serving predominantly low-income students in a large northeastern city, this case explores how a school leader seeks to improve the school's graduation rates by analyzing student data. It asks readers to consider the overall organization of the meeting, the role of the principal, the…

Students beginning high school commonly experience increased stress and behavior problems alongside declines in grades, attendance, interest in school, and perceptions of academic competence and self-esteem (Alvidrez & Weinstein, 1993; Reyes et al., 2000). Moreover, research indicates that, relative to students who graduate from high school,…

An analysis of data from the second year of The After-School Corporation's (TASC's) national demonstration of an expanded school day for elementary and middle school students shows that ExpandED Schools improved school culture, decreased rates of students' chronic absenteeism and helped students develop positive learning habits and attitudes.…

The federal government, states, school districts, and private foundations are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in educational data management systems. The hope for these investments is that providing better information to teachers and administrators, particularly student performance data, will support school-wide planning, inform…

Intervention models based on data use can be effective in raising student achievement. This article presents 3 studies of one such model which had reported improved reading comprehension levels in 7 poor urban multicultural schools serving indigenous and ethnic minority communities. The intervention (the Learning Schools Model) used a process…

The federal government, states, school districts, and private foundations are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in educational data management systems. The hope for these investments is that providing better information to teachers and administrators, particularly student performance data, will support school-wide planning, inform…

The federal government, states, school districts, and private foundations are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in educational data management systems. The hope for these investments is that providing better information to teachers and administrators, particularly student performance data, will support school-wide planning, inform…

This is an abridged, summary report of selected findings from "Pieces of the Puzzle: Factors in the Improvement of Urban School Districts on the National Assessment of Educational Progress"--a comprehensive study prepared by the Council of the Great City Schools in collaboration with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and with…

This report summarizes preliminary and exploratory research conducted by the Council of the Great City Schools and the American Institutes for Research on urban school systems participating in the Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The study is one of the first large-scale analyses…