Classrooms are busy places filled with students who require varying levels of support. Teachers are constantly striving to provide students with the most effective differentiated instruction, exactly when they need it.
With limited resources and time, though, it’s not always possible for teachers to spend time, one-on-one, with each student to pinpoint his or her strengths and weaknesses with each lesson and skill. This struggle has led to a shift in the educational landscape toward data-centric systems. Data-gathering and analysis tools enable teachers to make their instruction even more efficient and accurate.
Let’s discuss four paramount ways you and your team of educators can use student data to effectively inform instruction.
Use Data to Identify At-Risk Students
When it comes to at-risk students, early detection is critical. At-risk indicators – such as missed classes, poor grades, disengaged behavior, etc. – all help determine which students need extra support and potential interventions. But it is the collection and analysis of benchmark data that enables educators to identify academically at-risk students early.
Use Data to Close the Learning Gap
Benchmark assessments help identify at-risk students and place them in the correct intervention tier. Benchmark assessment data helps educators determine on which skills a student needs practice or re-teaching. These skills will be the focus of the targeted interventions.
From there, educators can see if the student is making achievement gains, if intervention is helping to close the learning gap, and if any intervention changes need to be made.
Use Data to Predict Student Achievement on End-of-Year Targets
As students complete initial screening assessments, powerful data is collected that can predict student achievement. This data can help educators identify potential gaps each week or month to get back on track for the end-of-year targets.
Use Data to Promote Success in Subsequent Grade Levels
As a student – whether at-risk or not – progresses through the grade levels, the data from benchmark assessments and RTI efforts will help the educators who work with that student next to immediately understand the student’s strengths and needs.
Are you ready to start fueling your instructional decisions with effective, reliable, easy-to-understand data? Discover how student data can inform instruction, measure student growth, and gauge intervention effectiveness all on one web-based system.