Data essentials for improving online student performance

Wayne Poncia, CEO of Hāpara focuses on how to use data as a transformative tool to improve student performance; plus three simple steps you can take to analyze the impact of your digital learning platforms. 

It is my firm belief that we need to focus on pedagogy in digital learning. I turn to how we can understand what is happening in our classrooms through the power of data. 

First, let’s begin with the basics and confirm what data is and why it is useful. Simply, data is information. It becomes useful when collected, organized, and interpreted for analysis and decision making. It enables decisions to be made based on facts, rather than intuitions or impressions. Standardized testing is perhaps the most recognized form of using data in education, but data is not just about complying with regulations. Data can improve student performance and give visibility into the online classroom. Together we will explore what you need to consider. Plus, I am going to give you three straightforward steps to help you analyze the impact of digital learning on student learning.  

Disaggregating data & equity of achievement

One of the most powerful things that an educational leader should do is to disaggregate data. Aggregated data, for example, might show a school is performing generally at or above the state or national average in several or all of the academic areas. However, once this data is disaggregated it can reveal more information and indicate any existing achievement gaps of various subgroups. It allows us to determine areas where teaching and learning can be improved. This is essential to ensure that school improvement planning attends to the needs of all students because states, districts, and schools are accountable for equity of achievement. 

A quick but important tip to remember when disaggregating your data is, does your data pass the 15% rule? In other words, does each subgroup contain at least 15% of the population? This will help to ensure that when you disaggregate the data you will get statistically appropriate results. 

Organizing data

The analysis of data is critical to the school improvement process. Also critical is that educational leaders and their teachers are able to manage data including the ability to reorganize and display it in ways that will assist them in its analysis and interpretation. 

There are various techniques ranging from data tables to different types of graphs and charts to elicit information. When choosing a data collection system educators should look for one that has:

• easy access to results, 
• multiple capabilities to disaggregate data, and 
• can visually present student achievement results. 

The right system will help inform planning and school improvement strategies.

Using data to set goals for improvement 

When looking at student achievement data, it is the story behind the student achievement data that educators must seek. To get to that story we can use an inquiry model for data analysis where questions are asked, the data (evidence) is considered, new questions are posed, and hypotheses arise based on the responses to the questions. 

You might ask:

• Have students mastered the outcome or standards? 
• What data will you use, and when? 
• What methods, strategies, and tools have been used by teachers and students?

Even more important when planning school improvement strategies are Wahlstrom’s (1999) three key areas around goal setting. This will help ensure that you focus on pedagogy and learning strategies and approaches. The three key areas to focus your inquiry are:

• Curriculum: What will we be teaching?
• Instructional strategies: How will we teach?
• Assessments: What will measure teaching and learning?

Digital learning impact on improving student performance/classroom visibility

Teachers will tell us that digital learning tech and software help students to grasp new concepts. In 2018, 95% of teachers surveyed felt that digital learning had a positive impact on student achievement. (2018-19 Global State of Digital Learning Survey). Dramatic changes in access to digital learning and systems have occurred since this survey. And, a survey is just that, a survey. After all, “without data, all you have are opinions” (Dr. John Hansen, Professor Emeritus, Florida State University).

Today most districts and schools have the data and the connectivity. Students have digital tools that enable them to do more than drill and practice or complete an assignment. So, how do you know if it’s all working?

To find out, Wahlstrom’s second key area “Instructional strategies: How will we teach?” is an effective and objective method for identifying the impact of digital learning on student performance. Providing that your digital tool or tools are built to suit teacher and student workflows, the baseline impact of your digital deployment can be created by simply: 

• Identifying teacher/student cohorts that have access to the tool(s) and for how many hours or days
• Layering your selected school improvement student performance data over that
•  Investigating what strategies the high-performing classes are utilizing with your digital platform

Three straightforward steps to analyze the impact of digital tools on student learning 

To finish, as promised, here are my three steps to follow when analyzing the impact of digital learning on student outcomes:

1. Compare the student learning performance of digital learning classes or student cohorts/subgroups.
2. Determine the instructional strategies that your school improvement plan expects from your digital instructional tools. 
3. Ask, which research-based instructional strategies and pedagogy do your digital apps or LMS focus on? 

At Hāpara we focus on the following pedagogically researched instructional practices:

• Collaboration: Student-student collaboration
• Formative feedback: Teacher-student formative feedback
• Differentiation: Of content and learning expectations
• Gradual release of responsibility: Student web research and activity
• Visibility: One-click access to all student learning files for teachers
• Student agency: One-click access to all learning activities, resources, materials, textbooks and assignments for students
• Student organization for learning: Clear expectations in every learning activity or assignment/single learning project or activity starting in Workspace 
• Student self-directed empowerment: One organizer for all learning workflows.

Focusing on pedagogy and best practice in learning when students and teachers use digital learning tools will help ensure you are providing equitable opportunities for all students. Identifying when these tools work, for what strategies and with which students and teachers are important for school improvement planning. The ability to determine strengths and weaknesses and implement strategies for improvement is powerful, providing the ability to make great changes in the school environment. Data is one of the most important keys you can utilize to unlock this power!