Data based decision making

Data based decision making or data driven decision making refers to educator’s ongoing process of collecting and analyzing different types of data, including demographic, student achievement test, satisfaction, process data to guide decisions towards improvement of educational process. DDDM becomes more important in education since federal and state test-based accountability policies. No Child Left Behind Act opens broader opportunities and incentives in using data by educational organizations by requiring schools and districts to analyze additional components of data, as well as pressing them to increase student test scores. Information makes schools accountable for year by year improvement various student groups. DDDM helps to recognize the problem and who is affected by the problem; therefore, DDDM can find a solution of the problem

The purpose of DDDM is to help educators, schools, districts, and states to use information they have to actionable knowledge to improve student outcomes. DDDM requires high-quality data and possibly technical assistance; otherwise, data can misinform and lead to unreliable inferences. Data management techniques can improve teaching and learning in schools. Test scores are used by many principals to identify “bubble kids”, students whose results are just below proficiency level in reading and mathematics.

There are 4 major types of data used in education: demographics data, perceptions data, student learning data, and school processes data.

1. Demographics data in educational organizations answers the question, "Who are we?". Demographics show the current context of the school and shows the trends. Trends help to predict and plan for the future, along with seeing measures where leaders work towards continuous school improvement. Thorough demographic data explains the structure of school, system, and the leadership. In education demographic data to the next items: number of students in the school, number of students with special needs, number of English learners, age or grade of students in cohorts, socio-economical status of students, attendance rates, ethnicity/race/religious beliefs, graduation rates, dropout rates, experience information of teachers, information about parents of students.

2. Perception data tells us what students, staff, and parents think about a school and answers the question, "How do we do business?". School culture, climate, and organizational processes are assessed by perception data. Perception data includes values, beliefs, perceptions, opinions, observations. Perception data is collected mostly questionnaires. Perception data can be differentiate by two groups: 1- staff, 2 - students and parents. Staff are being asked if any changes in instruction or curriculum need to take place. Student and parent are questioned to report their interests, how difficult it take them to learn, how are they taught and treated.

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