Six online learning modules for trainers are available: (a) Introduction; (b) Test Scores; (c) Principles of Measurement; (d) What Does This Mean for my Classroom?; (e) Specific Major Tests; (f) Data-Based Decision Making.  The modules include a presentation, activities, outline, notes, glossary, directed questions, and assessment.  (The e-Learning Design Lab at the University of Kansas is engaged in projects awarded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education and Office of Special Education Programs, as well as other funders.)

The Classroom Assessment KnowledgeBase is an online resource for State departments of education to use as part of their professional development efforts with districts and schools.  Organized around five elements, it brings together concepts, how-to guidance, tools, and resources about classroom assessment.  The five elements  are (a) Determine the Goals of Formative Assessment; (b) Design or Select the Assessment; (c) Administer the Assessment; (d) Understand and Interpret the Assessment Results; and (e) Make Adjustments in Instruction and Assessment.  ((Located at the University of Oklahoma, the Mid-Continent Comprehensive Center is a regional technical assistance center ...

This online training is designed to provide administrators with the knowledge and skills necessary to initiate the process of evaluating their schools' prevention efforts. Course materials are also available in downloadable print format. (This training is offered by the National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Drug Prevention and School Safety Program Coordinators with funding from the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, U.S. Department of Education.)

Since 2006, the national Study of Education Data Systems and Decision Making, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s Policy and Program Studies Service, has been examining both the implementation of student data systems per se and the broader set of practices involving the use of data to improve instruction, regardless of whether or not the data are stored in and accessed through an electronic system.  Earlier study reports have documented a dramatic increase in the proportion of teachers with access to a student data system between 2005 and 2007.  This final report builds on the picture of local practices in implementing data-driven decision making by presenting data ...

This guide offers five recommendations to help educators effectively use data to monitor students’ academic progress and evaluate instructional practices. The guide recommends that schools set a clear vision for schoolwide data use, develop a data-driven culture, and make data part of an ongoing cycle of instructional improvement. The guide also recommends teaching students how to use their own data to set learning goals.

Data-driven decisionmaking is critical to many organizations, including schools, school districts, and State education agencies.  In an education setting, it means that pedagogical and operational choices are to be informed by accurate, relevant information available in time to influence decisionmaking.  To do this, however, raw data from disparate sources must be assessed, integrated, compiled and distilled into useful information in a timely manner.  This task may best be accomplished by a specific class of computer information systems called “decision support systems (DSS).”  This guide was developed to help educators better understand decision support systems and ...

The What Works Clearinghouse hosts a number of events related to the use of evidence in education decision making. Audio files, video files, presentations, and transcripts from these events are available to users for download.  Current topics in this continuing series include (a) Using Data to Improve Student Achievement; (b) Helping Students Navigate the Path to College; (c) Response to Intervention (RTI) in Early Reading and Mathematics: Moving Evidence on What Works Into Practice; (d) Education Research: Moving Evidence on What Works Into Practice.  (The What Works Clearinghouse is a component of the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.)