Making data work for teachers and students

The vast majority of teachers regularly use some form of digital tool to guide instruction. But more than two-thirds say they are not fully satisfied with the effectiveness of the data or the tools for working with data that they have access to on a regular basis. More than 4,600 teachers were surveyed about their use of data to drive instruction and the use of these tools. The survey was sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of their “Teachers Know Best” report series. This second report focused on the potential of digital instructional tools that help teachers collect and make use of student data to tailor and improve instruction for individual students. Survey respondents were asked about their behaviors and beliefs, how they use data to guide student learning, to describe and rate current tools, report on the challenges they face, and offer advice on ways to make digital tools more effective for teachers and students.

How do teachers use data to tailor instruction?

The study found that teachers vary in their approaches and comfort with using data and the technology that supports them, with six key segments identified by the researchers: Data mavens, growth seekers, aspirational users, scorekeepers, perceptives and traditionalists.

48% of teachers surveyed fall into the first two groups and are early adopters of data-driven instruction. But an equally large percentage of those surveyed say they are uncomfortable using digital tools to meet student learning objectives.

Challenges with Tools that Support Data-driven Instruction

The key challenges with digital tools, as with the data they collect, largely center around the time and effort it takes to understand, adopt, and put the information they generate to use.

Teachers say that data available today limit their ability to track student progress and tailor instruction because they are often:

• Provided manually
• Siloed, and difficult to work with or aggregate
• One-dimensional
• Untrustworthy
• Slow
• Not sufficiently granular
• Unable to track progress over time
• Inflexible
• Inaccessible to students

Key Findings

• Teachers believe that they have a responsibility to support every student and should tailor instruction based on their individual strengths, needs, and interests.
• 86% of teachers are constantly looking for ways to engage students based on who they are.
• 78% of teachers believe that data help validate where their students are and where they can go.
• 93% of teachers use some sort of digital tool to help guide instruction.
• 67% of teachers are not fully satisfied with the effectiveness of the data and tools they have access to on a regular basis.

Recommendations for Teachers

Teachers should work together and with their administrators to find opportunities to leverage tools to use data more effectively, including:

• Collaborating with one another to master best practices for data-driven instruction, share how students are doing across classes, and discuss the implications of data.
• Engaging school leaders in conversations around challenges and needs in the use of data.
• Enabling students to participate in data-driven decisions about their learning whenever feasible and appropriate.

Recommendations for Administrators

School leaders should study the examples of technology-forward schools and look for ways to build attributes that support data-driven instruction in their own buildings, including:

• Using the data-driven instructional model to discuss where existing data procedures and tools support—or fail to support—student learning.
• Restructuring learning environments to ensure that teachers have access to rich data every day, and recognizing that the depth of data-driven instruction is dependent on the availability of high-quality tools that keep teachers from being overburdened with administrative tasks.
• Seeking out and potentially incorporating existing solutions that innovative schools have already developed, such as those highlighted on pp. 8 and 28.
• Supporting teachers by investing in the staff, training, dedicated time, and professional development needed to integrate tools and practice.
• Engaging teachers in the process of identifying and selecting new tools and strategies.
• Accelerating the shift to personalized learning by investing in infrastructure and high-quality tools.
• Explaining to parents and community members the value of data-driven instruction and the safeguards in place to protect student information.

Detailed explanations of the key findings outlined in this post can be found in the full survey results.

Survey Results (PDF, 6.8 MB)

About Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks
to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Sue Desmond-Hellmann and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.