This article describes a language arts teacher's two-tiered way of using assessment data, which uses both standardized assessment data and teacher-created "skills" inventories. Standardized test data may help see where a learner performed in a previous year on items that often do not line up too well with future content. Standardized…

Has the academic achievement gap between high-income and low-income students changed over the last few decades? If so, why? And what can schools do about it? Researcher Sean F. Reardon conducted a comprehensive analysis of research to answer these questions and came up with some striking findings. In this article, he shows that income-related…

In a data-driven school culture, there is an institutionalized willingness to use numbers systematically to reveal important patterns and answer focused questions about policy, methods, and outcomes. A central data team relies on input from teachers, ultimately responsible for student success. Massachusetts applications and examples are described.…

In fall 1997, a midwestern district initiated changes to enable all stakeholders (especially teachers) to be knowledgeable users of standardized and teacher-made test results. Two major activities were implemented: data notebooks for each school and a data-mentor program to develop school personnel's data-analysis skills. (MLH)

Discusses which kinds of data educators should respect and which they should reject. Asserts that most state accountability tests fail to produce the kinds of data that will improve teaching and learning. Teachers can get the data they need from their own instructionally useful classroom assessments. (WFA)