In the corporate world, data sits at the very heart of business improvement. It can be used to inform decisions around anything from product development and marketing channels to what refreshments should be served in the canteen to maximise productivity. To the uninitiated, data-driven decision making can seem a cold and impersonal concept — out of place in an education institution. But in a school which embraces data — such as details of pupils’ attendance, achievements or conduct — and uses it well, teachers derive knowledge that is fundamental to helping them deliver educational excellence. So what can they do to ensure data such as students’ attendance, behaviour and achievements can be easily collated? And how can such information help to drive higher standards of teaching and learning? American statistician and author Nate Silver, who developed a data analysis system to forecast the performance and career development of major league baseball players, also used the same system to accurately predict voter behaviour in all 50 states of the American Union in the 2012 US presidential election. Likewise, in schools and academic institutions, teachers’ judgement is essential to supporting pupils’ progress, and data can provide powerful insights into what might be holding children back. Many of the UK’s top-ranked schools have become proficient at using data to inform decisions made by teachers in their classrooms. In some of the highest performing schools, current and historical pupil achievement data is stored in sophisticated management information systems. This simplifies the task of data analysis and enables it to be used to drive students’ improvement and progress. Centrally-stored data on pupils’ attendance, achievements and behaviour is very useful to provide a fuller picture of the progress of individual students and groups. Teachers can track the progress of every child quickly and easily to identify those who may need additional support to achieve more. Data can also help teachers spot potentially high-performing students who could benefit from being stretched further. Principals and teachers could analyse their pupils’ achievement data to ascertain whether pre-teen girls out-perform boys in English language, for instance, and if this is the case, they can then use the information to uncover causative factors. Insights like these derived from data can be incredibly valuable for helping teachers plan and customise lessons. For schools to transform into data-driven institutions, they first need a broad range of information flowing into their computer systems. Secondly, it’s vital the school management provides an environment in which data is welcomed and put to good use. One challenge some schools I’ve interacted with have experienced is when the data reveals an issue that requires action, decisions on tackling it are overridden by the Hippo (‘highest paid person’s opinion’). While the Hippo scenario doesn’t occur in every school, this situation is much less likely in institutions that have robust data systems and processes in place which encourage teachers to take data-driven decisions. If analysis of a school’s information system shows that lateness to lessons is impacting negatively on pupils’…
