5 questions to ask schools in your network about how they use data

Creating a data-driven school community is no small feat, and the hardest part is often just knowing where to start. A great way to gain traction and interest in your school is by connecting with and learning from other schools' experiences through open dialogue about their use of data. 

Conversations with key leaders and staff at schools that have successfully made the transition to being data-driven can provide a wealth of information and can be a key driver for starting a conversation in your own community. 

So, pick up the phone and get networking; here are our top 5 questions to ask your neighbouring schools about their use of data. 

1. What data do you gather?

Understanding what type of data other schools are collecting, why they are collecting it, how often, and by whom is a great way to get ideas on how educational data could be used at your school. 

Obviously, “what data do you gather” is a very broad question, so it might be best to ask your network to break down how they deal with quantitative and qualitative individually, to get a better sense of how each type of data is captured and analysed. 

Ask what specific, quantitative data about students they collect. Such as: 

• Demographics (age, gender, enrichment requirements)  
• Academic information (grades) 
• Testing (internal and external test results) 
• Attendance  

You can then expand your questions to cover information that's not so easy to put a number on, such as:

• Student Characteristic Data (enrolment information, student profile) 
• Wellbeing Data (wellness surveys, observations and conversations) 
• Student Achievement Data (observations of class performance, portfolios, academic awards) 
• Actions (behaviour, commitments, extra-curricular) 
• Perception Data (how students, staff and parents feel about your school’s learning culture, resources, teaching approach etc.) 
   

2. Where do you store your data?

Schools have a multitude of different systems in place, each collecting and storing its own set of data.  

With all these systems in place, it can be difficult to identify the central point of truth for information. So, how do schools collate the data from their different systems to gain consolidated insights from across their school? 

Consider asking questions such as: 

• What systems do you use to store and collect data? 
• Are the systems connected to each other? 
• Who has access to the data and how is this controlled? 
• Do parents / students have access to the data? 
• How is the data presented to those who need it around the school?  

3. Do you have a dedicated data analyst?

Schools collect an overwhelming and ever-increasing amount of information. So, how do you sift through the noise and pull out the trends and insights hidden behind that wall of data?  

Who is responsible for analysing, interpreting, and drawing conclusions from the data collected?  Who do staff ask if they need access to data?  

Some schools make it everyone’s responsibility, some have a dedicated data analyst or data management group, and others use software to do the heavy lifting. 

When talking to schools within your network, investigate whether they provided any formal training in data analytics to teachers or specific school staff, especially if data analysis is everyone’s responsibility. 

Knowing what others are doing, and how it is working out for them is a great way to determine the best approach for your school. 

4. What is data used for?

Using data to inform decision making is often harder than it sounds, and each school will have a slightly different approach. It’s important to think about how staff are expected to use data, and how they demonstrate this usage. 

From an academic standpoint, consider: 

• How do you view how a student is doing across all metrics?
• Do teachers have the ability to easily view trends in test results?  
• Is certain data used for generating reports?  
• Is it used to prepare for academic mentoring?  
• What data do you use to calculate academic awards? 

From a pastoral perspective: 

• Can data be used to prepare for parent teacher interviews? 
• How are trends in attendance and student wellbeing identified? 

You may be surprised by some of the creative ways schools are using data. Be sure to ask whether the use of data has led to any surprising or particularly impactful insights. Are there specific problems that they have solved, or are trying to solve using data analytics? 

5. How do you ensure the quality of the data?

Timely, relevant, and quality data is the key to ensuring students are getting the support they need to achieve their learning and wellbeing goals. 

However, with access to a truly overwhelming and ever-increasing amount of information, how do you sift through the noise to ensure you're tracking the right things at the right times?  

A data-rich school is rich not only in the quantity and availability of data, but in the quality as well.  

Consider asking schools within your network whether: 

• they have a process or policy in place to ensure data is collected and stored correctly? 
• they provide training for staff about collecting and interpreting different types of data?
• they perform regular audits on their data? 

These are all questions to consider when trying to determine how other schools maintain the quality of their data. 

Being open, honest and willing to learn from others will give your school the best chance at successfully transitioning to becoming data-driven. 

Hopefully, these questions have helped provide a starting point to foster an open conversation on data and its use within schools throughout your network.