Using Data to Improve Schools

Elaine Allensworth is the Lewis-Sebring Director of the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research and a research professor at the Crown School of Social Work, where she has conducted research on educational policy and practice for over 25 years. Her research examines factors influencing students’ educational attainment, school leadership, and school improvement. She works with policymakers and practitioners to bridge research and practice, serving on panels, policy commissions, and working groups at the local, state and national levels. Her research on the factors that predict whether students will drop out of high school has shifted the conversation from factors that schools cannot control to factors that schools can influence; school districts across the country have adopted early warning indicator systems based on her research. Her work on school leadership has documented the ways in which organizational structures in schools influence improvements in student achievement. Dr. Allensworth has been the principal investigator on research grants from funders such as the Institute of Education Sciences, the National Science Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She has received a number of awards from the American Educational Research Association for outstanding publications. She holds a doctorate in sociology from Michigan State University and was once a high school teacher.

This book is an essential guide for how to select the right data and then use them to achieve better educational outcomes. Allensworth’s advice combines research on data quality coupled with the practical acumen she acquired through advancing educational opportunities in Chicago. A must-read for anyone seeking to improve our nation’s schools.

• ACKNOWLEDGMENTSABOUT THE AUTHORINTRODUCTIONCHAPTER 1: DESIGNING THE SCHOOL TO REACH YOUR VISIONResults With the Right DataFocusing on the Wrong MetricsImprovement Requires ChangeWhat Is Evidence-Informed Practice in Education?Data Are the Starting Point to Productive ConversationsWhat the Data Represent Is Most ImportantData for Accountability Versus ImprovementUsing Data to Support Success, Not Add BurdenKey TakeawaysReflection QuestionsCHAPTER 2: SIX KEY PROPERTIES OF DATAData Are Messy: Reliability and Validity Show TrustworthinessProperties That Make Data Useful for School ImprovementHow to Get Data on the Properties of DataKey TakeawaysReflection QuestionsCHAPTER 3: DATA ON STUDENT LEARNINGStandardized Test ScoresCourse Grades and GPAsKey TakeawaysReflection QuestionsCHAPTER 4: USEFUL DATA FOR STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND EXPERIENCES IN SCHOOLData on Student Engagement and ExperiencesAttendanceStudent and Teacher Survey DataClassroom ObservationsOpportunity StructuresKey TakeawaysReflection QuestionsCHAPTER 5: MAKING USE OF DATA: VISION AND GOALSShared Leadership and AlignmentA Compelling VisionSetting GoalsKey TakeawayReflection QuestionsCHAPTER 6: MAKING USE OF DATA: CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENTBuilding the Conditions for Student Success: School-Wide and Tier 1 StrategiesSupporting Struggling Students: EWI Systems and Tier 2 and 3 InterventionsEvaluating Instructional and Program EffectivenessCommunication Across the School CommunityKey TakeawaysReflection QuestionsCONCLUSION: WHICH DATA FOR WHAT PURPOSE?REFERENCESINDEX