Center for Standards, Assessment, and Accountability

Grade Level: Elementary School (K-5)

Answering the Questions That Count

In this brief Educational Leadership article, the authors draw from their personal experiences to illustrate the value of answering essential questions prior to data collection. They examine three components of systematic data use: data quality, data capacity, and data culture. Each component is defined, then illustrated and supported by a specific case experience from the subject of literacy.

Backward Design for Forward Action

This publication provides a concise overview of a three-stage, data-driven backward planning process to improve student learning. This backward design process proposes systemic changes at the classroom, school, and district levels in order to develop meaningful assessments and learning plans. The process includes identifying desired results, analyzing multiple data sources, and determining appropriate action plans.

No Schools Left Behind

In this eight-page article, the author describes and illustrates a specific process for using different types of data to improve student outcomes, including achievement. She defines and illustrates four types of data that schools should gather, including demographics, student learning, perception, and school processes data. She also describes different types of questions that may be answered through […]

From Accountability to Actionability: Making Sense of Multiple Measures in Local Control Accountability Plans

In this brief, the authors review “promising practices from California districts and insights from research on multiple measures to provide recommendations that improve how districts generate, present, and use data in their [Local Control Accountability Plans] LCAPs.” The authors “recommend that districts use multiple measures to develop greater coherence between inputs, processes, and outcomes linked […]

What Exactly Do “Fewer, Clearer, and Higher Standards” Really Look Like in the Classroom? Using a Cognitive Rigor Matrix to Analyze Curriculum, Plan Lessons, and Implement Assessments

From the abstract: “With the ever-increasing call for more rigorous curriculum, instruction, and assessment in the United States, the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers are aiming to define the rigorous skills and knowledge that students need in order to succeed academically in college-entry courses and in workforce training programs […]

Improving Teaching and Learning with Data-Based Decisions: Asking the Right Questions and Acting on the Answers

This resource provides information on data-based decision making to help schools increase student achievement, focusing on the use of data to inform instructional and curricular change. Included is an overview on how educators can use assessments with different purposes to gather various types of data. The paper also outlines the attributes of effective data use and various methods for […]