Data analysis to improve student outcomes
Effective school leaders demonstrate that student learning and student achievement is their top priority. They do this through thoughtful, purposeful, and strategic actions that not only build, but support a learning organization focused on student success. Student assessment is an ongoing cycle where data is continuously collected and analyzed to set goals. Instead of risking the possibility of data living in various places, and being viewed as abstract, leaders can leverage Microsoft Excel (entry level) or Power BI (advanced) to collect, analyze, and share data in a concrete, transparent, and empowering way. Shared Excel workbooks and Power BI dashboards can simplify data analysis to enable teachers to use data to inform instruction.
Data walls can be a powerful resource for a school community when used correctly. Many school leaders use data walls to help themselves and teachers visualize common trends, set goals, and help identify students for academic interventions. Traditional or physical data walls used inexpensive materials such as masking tape and sticky notes to visualize students’ data displayed on a board in a common area that educators access.
Benefits of digitizing data
- All data points in one place
- Engages teachers in reflection
- Access data from anywhere with an internet connection
- Protect access to data by only granting specific users permission
- Real-time updates
- Multiple users accessing/editing data simultaneously
- Easily visualize trends
- Apply conditional formatting to analyze patterns
How to digitize data for your school
- Consider what kind of organizational structure works best for your environment. Some examples follow.
- Create different Excel workbooks for levels (grade level/year/group, etc.), with sheets reflecting teacher names.
- Create different Excel workbooks for subject areas.
More support
Want to strengthen your data-driven school culture? Download and edit your own in-person training materials: Data collection and assessment
One of the downfalls of traditional (physical) data walls is the fact that they live in and can be accessed only in one place, often a central location within a school building. The problem with this arrangement is the data wall might not always be available to the teachers or leaders who need to access it. Using Microsoft Excel or Power BI, school leaders can ensure all teachers have access anywhere, anytime. Organizing, viewing, and analyzing school data in a digital format increases accessibility and enhances the power that data can provide.
What is Power BI?
In short, Power BI is a Microsoft app that can quickly automate the data reporting process to reduce teacher and leader workload in the end. Educators using Power BI can see data models from multiple sources that all feed into one dashboard.
Benefits of using Power BI
- Reduce teacher workload by limiting time spent manipulating and analyzing data
- Help centralize management systems and limit work duplication
- Unify input and output formats
- Live link to data, no more out of data Excel exports, broken formulas, or locked for editing files
- Data security – permissions to view dashboards are managed at an organizational level, users are unable to share confidential information out of the organization