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Data Use and Formative Assessment

AACC Resources

Resources developed by the AACC to help regional centers and states improve their assessments and accountability systems.

Data Use

  • AACC Data Use Web Site The AACC Data Use Web Site, developed to help regional centers, states, and other education agencies improve their use of data and increase student achievement, contains 4 key components:
    • A guide for the effective use of data to improve educational decision-making
    • A map of key capacities needed at each educational level to support effective data use
    • Standards and criteria for evaluating data tools and selecting diagnostic assessments
    • A comprehensive listing of research-based guidance on effective data use

    The Assessment and Accountability Comprehensive Center implements, evaluates, and improves assessment and accountability systems so that states and districts can reach the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) goal of academic proficiency for all students.

    Contact Information
    Margaret Heritage (Data Use)
    310-794-5680
    mheritag@ucla.edu

    Ron Dietel (Communications)
    310-794-9168
    dietel@cse.ucla.edu

  • Draft Framework for Developing High Quality English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards and Assessments (PDF)

    The draft Framework for Developing High Quality English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards and Assessments was developed in response to requests from States for assistance from the U.S. Department of Education on how to evaluate the technical quality of their ELP standards and assessments.

    The U.S. Department of Education invites comments on this draft Framework. Comments can be submitted via the following link: lepframework@aacompcenter.org

Formative Assessment

Reviewed Resources

Includes knowledge (frequently research reports), products and tools, guidance, and services that are recommended by an expert committee. The rating form and method are aligned to ratings from other comprehensive content centers. A comprehensive glossary provides many additional details about the AACC rating process.

Data Use

  • The data-informed district: A district-wide evaluation of data use in the Natrona County School District

    Author/Provider: Wayman, J. C., Cho, V., & Johnston, M. T., The University of Texas at Austin
    Resource Type: Knowledge
    Cost: Free
    Length: 81 pages
    Website: http://edadmin.edb.utexas.edu/datause/Wayman_data_use_evaluation.pdf (PDF)

    Resource Summary: Wayman, Cho, & Johnston describe a data-informed district as one where educational data inform every decision and are used by every educator at every level. In such a district, common understandings exist about the nature of learning, the nature of teaching, and how data may best inform these charges. This report outlines the findings and recommendations from this evaluation. Using interview data from 128 individuals and survey data from 435 individuals, Wayman, Cho, & Johnston thoroughly examine data use, data practices, opinions, and technological resources at every level of the district. These detailed findings are used to outline a series of detailed recommendations for the evaluated District to efficiently become a data-informed district.

    Full Citation: Wayman, J. C., Cho, V., & Johnston, M. T. (2007). The data-informed district: A district-wide evaluation of data use in the Natrona County School District. Austin: The University of Texas.

    Selected Reviewer Comments: "Very important resource for any district considering integrating its data systems." "This should be a must read for state and district administrators involved in data use of any type. Highly recommended reading. Very well done and extremely informative."

  • Data Wise: A step-by-step guide to using assessment to improve teaching and learning

    Author/Provider: Boudett, K.P., City E.A., & Murnane, R.J., Harvard Education Publishing Group
    Resource Type: Product or Tool
    Cost: $29.95
    Length: 212 pages
    Website: http://www.hepg.org/hep/book/53

    Resource Summary: Data Wise provides a toolbox of information pertaining to data-use and assessment practice. Following the "Data Wise Improvement Process," the book provides strategies to help schools organize and use data to improve student learning. The strategy can help organize assessment projects for people with various levels of experience with the topic (p. 5).

    Full Citation: Boudett, K.P., City E.A., & Murnane, R.J. (Eds.). (2005). Data wise: A step-by-step guide to using assessment to improve teaching and learning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Publishing Group.

    Selected Reviewer Comments: "Very accessible, full of extremely valuable information. Is definitely a step-by-step resource that can be used to build capacity for data use at the local level."

  • Effective Use of Electronic Data Systems: A Readiness Guide for School and District Leaders

    Author/Provider: Learning Point Associates and the Educational Service Alliance (ESA) of the Midwest
    Resource Type: Product or Tool
    Cost: Free
    Length: 43 pages
    Website: http://www.pdaonline.org/resources/ReadinessGuideSept2006.pdf

    Resource Summary: This resource provides guidance for school and district leaders to use electronic data systems. There are three sections to the tool: "(1) Tools for District and School Leaders, (2) Tools for Facilitators, and (3) Resources" (p. 4). The document organizes the tools for school level electronic data systems "around eight discussion elementsóWill, Scope, Risk, Readiness, Information Quality, System Quality, Impact, and Cost" (p. 4). Also provides a catalog of available data sources.

    Full Citation: Learning Point Associates & the Educational Service Alliance (ESA) of the Midwest. (2006). Effective Use of Electronic Data Systems: A Readiness Guide for School and District Leaders. Naperville, IL.: Learning Point Associates.

    Selected Reviewer Comments: "This is a useful tool which will be helpful to districts and schools in planning to use data tools."

  • Electronic Learning Assessment Resources

    Author/Provider: Cradler, J. California Learning Resource Network
    Cost: Free
    Website: http://www.clrn.org/elar

    Resource Summary: Focusing on data-driven decision-making and data literacy, this website facilitates searching for appropriate electronic learning assessment resources. The website reviews: data warehouses, data analysis and reporting systems, curriculum management systems, instruction and practice systems, and assessment and diagnostic systems (website).

    Full Citation: Cradler, J. (2006). Electronic Learning Assessment Resources (ELAR): California Learning Resource Network. Retrieved July 25, 2006, from website.

    Selected Reviewer Comments: "As SEA and district personnel become more interested in electronic learning assessment resources related to local accountability, diagnostic and benchmark assessments, this site coordinates the most information I have seen to date in one location"

  • Forum Guide to Building a Culture of Quality Data: A School & District Resource

    Author/Provider: National Forum on Education Statistics
    Resource Type: Guidance
    Cost: Free
    Length: 44 pages
    Website: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/2005801.pdf

    Resource Summary: Quality data, like quality students, come from schools. Recently, there has been a growing awareness that effective teaching, efficient schools, and quality data are related. The quality of information used to develop an instructional plan, run a school, plan a budget, or place a student in a class depends upon the school data clerk, teacher, counselor, and/or school secretary who enter data into a computer. This document offers recommendations to staff in schools and school districts about best practices for data entry ó getting things right at the source.

    Full Citation: National Forum on Education Statistics. (2004). Forum Guide to Building a Culture of Quality Data: A School & District Resource (NFES 2005-801). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.

    Selected Reviewer Comments: "I think this would be a very useful resource since it gives simple, easy to follow guidance about data use from every level (teacher to superintendent)." "Very detailed and comprehensive guidance for a variety of stakeholders." "I believe that it will have a positive effect on learning because accurate and timely data are key to the ability of administratorsí and teachersí ability to make effective decisions about student learning." "Very thorough, detailed and clear guidance that provides valuable information to all levels of the system for improved data quality."

  • Improving teaching and learning with data-based decisions: Asking the right questions and acting on the answers

    Author/Provider: Protheroe, N., Educational Research Service
    Resource Type: Guidance
    Cost: Free
    Length: 11 pages
    Website: http://www.ers.org/spectrum/sum01a.htm

    Resource Summary: Discusses how to make instructional improvement decisions using data-based assessment. Describes three steps in using data-based assessment: developing the right questions, collecting and analyzing the data, and providing staff support to make effective use of the data. Effective use of assessment data requires both quality data and sufficient time and expertise to analyze it.

    Full Citation: Protheroe, N. (2001). Improving teaching and learning with data-based decisions: Asking the right questions and acting on the answers. Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service.

    Selected Reviewer Comments: The resource adds value to the field by "pulling research and approach to using data into one succinct overview of using data approach." "I appreciated this succinct and research referenced (outcomes related) outline that provided a guide and linked the appropriate use of assessments and assessment data to district user data needs and purposes." "Its content and brevity make this a highly valuable resource."

  • Measuring how benchmark assessments affect student achievement

    Author/Provider: Henderson, S., Petrosino, A., Guckenburg, S., & Hamilton, S., U.S. Department of Education
    Resource Type: Knowledge
    Cost: Free
    Length: 47 pages
    Website: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?id=43

    Resource Summary: This report examines a Massachusetts pilot program for quarterly benchmark exams in middle-school mathematics, finding that program schools do not show greater gains in student achievement after a year. But that finding might reflect limited data rather than ineffective benchmark assessments.

    Full Citation: Henderson, S., Petrosino, A., Guckenburg, S., & Hamilton, S. (2007) Measuring how benchmark assessments affect student achievement (Issues & Answers Report, REL 2007-No. 039). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs

  • State Education Data Systems That Increase Learning and Improve Accountability

    Author/Provider: Palaich, R.M., Good, D.G., & van der Ploeg, A., Learning Points Associates
    Resource Type: Guidance
    Cost: Free
    Length: 11 Pages
    Website: http://www.ncrel.org/policy/pubs/pdfs/pivol16.pdf

    Resource Summary: This policy brief provides suggestions for dealing with data systems for state education systems. Three key recommendations of this study are: "address the key tasks associated with effective use of education data, create an education data oversight commission in each state, and develop common data standards, data-collection, guidelines, and data-management practices" (p. 9-10).

    Full Citation: Palaich, R.M., Good, D.G., & van der Ploeg, A. (2004, June). State Education Data Systems that Increase Learning and Improve Accountability. Learning Points Associatesí Policy Issues, 16, 1-11.

    Selected Reviewer Comments: "This guidance is useful in developing effective state-wide data systems."

  • Using Data Workshop

    Author/Provider: TERC
    Resource Type: Service
    Cost: $750 per person
    Website: http://usingdata.terc.edu/toplevel/home.cfm

    Resource Summary: Emphasizes the use of data to help educators take the best advantage of the resources available. The developers announce that: "the project has developed a comprehensive, long-term professional development program and supporting materials designed for data facilitators" (website).

    Full Citation: TERC. Using Data Workshops from the Using Data Project. Retrieved on April 24, 2007 from website.

    Selected Reviewer Comments: "This service offers sustained professional development to build capacity."

  • Working Inside the Black Box: Assessment for Learning in the Classroom

    Author/Provider: Paul Black, Christine Harrison, Clare Lee, Bethan Marshall, and Dylan Wiliam, Phi Delta Kappan
    Resource Type: Knowledge
    Cost: Free
    Length: 13 pages
    Website: http://litd.psch.uic.edu/docs/ForSGLrngEnvAIM/BlackWrkBlBox.pdf

    Resource Summary: In their widely read article "Inside the Black Box," Mr. Black and Mr. Wiliam demonstrated that improving formative assessment raises student achievement. Now they and their colleagues report on a follow-up project that has helped teachers change their practice and students change their behavior so that everyone shares responsibility for the students' learning.

    Full Citation: Full Citation: Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2004). Working inside the black box: Assessment for learning in the classroom. Phi Delta Kappan. 96 (1),9-21.

    Selected Reviewer Comments: "Very useful for practitioners and policy makers." "Theoretically sound and very practical. Administrators and teachers could read this article and do something as a result." "Excellent article to stimulate teaching practice discussions." "Excellent article to use with trainers engaged in training, or practitioners implementing new formative assessment practice." "There seems to be enough depth and breadth to make this a very useful resource. "

Formative Assessment

  • The Nature and Impact of Teachersí Formative Assessment Practices

    Author/Provider:Joan L. Herman, Ellen Osmundson, Carlos Ayala, Stephen Schneider, & Mike Timms. National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing
    Resource Type: Knowledge
    Cost: Free
    Length: 37 pages
    Website: http://www.cse.ucla.edu/products/reports/R703.pdf

    Resource Summary: Theory and research suggest the critical role that formative assessment can play in student learning. Drawing data from 13 middle school science teachers from a diverse range of schools, this study examined three questions: 1) What was the quality of implementation of a formative assessment science unit in middle school classrooms? 2) What was the quality of teacher feedback provided to students? 3) To what degree did teachers make instructional changes based on the formative assessment results? The research team found the quality of implementation of the formative assessments varied considerably among teachers, that the use of effective feedback to students was surprisingly rare, and that little use was made of the assessment results to modify instruction. Important implications are discussed for the effective use of formative assessments.

    Full Citation: Herman, J.L., Osmundson, E., Ayala, C., Schneider, S., & Timms, M. (2006). The nature and impact of teachers' formative assessment practices (CRESST Report 703). Los Angeles: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing.

    Selected Reviewer Comments: "This paper covers a topic that I am very knowledgeable in (both FAST science materials and formative assessment), yet I felt it has some new food for thought to offer readers."

  • Teachers developing assessment for learning: Impact on student achievement

    Author/Provider: Dylan William, Clare Lee, Christine Harrison & Paul Black/ Assessment in Education
    Resource Type: Knowledge
    Cost: $32.42
    Length: 17 pages
    Website: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/caie/2004/00000011/00000001/art00004

    Resource Summary: While it is generally acknowledged that increased use of formative assessment (or assessment for learning) leads to higher quality learning, it is often claimed that the pressure in schools to improve the results achieved by students in externally-set tests and examinations precludes its use. This paper reports on the achievement of secondary school students who worked in classrooms where teachers made time to develop formative assessment strategies. A total of 24 teachers (2 science and 2 mathematics teachers, in each of six schools in two LEAs) were supported over a six-month period in exploring and planning their approach to formative assessment. Beginning in September 1999, the teachers put these plans into action with selected classes. In order to compute effect sizes, a measure of prior attainment and at least one comparison group was established for each class (typically either an equivalent class taught in the previous year by the same teacher, or a parallel class taught by another teacher). The mean effect size in favor of the intervention was 0.32.

    Full Citation: Wiliam, D., Lee, C., Harrison, C., & Black, P. (2004, March). Teachers developing assessment for learning:Impact on student achievement. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice 11(1), 49-65.

    Selected Reviewer Comments: "This resource is highly relevant..." "Very easy to read." "The resource builds nicely on previous work which it also supports."

  • Tough choices in designing a formative assessment system

    Author/Provider: Nancy Sharkey and Richard Murnane/American Journal of Education
    Resource Type: Guidance
    Cost: $5.00
    Length: 17 pages
    Website: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AJE/journal/issues/v112n4/112406/brief/112406.abstract.html

    Resource Summary: A growing number of school districts in the United States are introducing formative assessment systems to measure student skills in core subjects throughout the year. The underlying logic is that providing teachers with timely information on student skills will enable them to improve instruction and better prepare students to excel on high-stakes, state-mandated tests. This article describes lessons learned from one large urban district's attempts to implement a formative assessment system. Based on interviews with teachers and administrators, the article sheds light on the difficult choices educators face in choosing formative assessments and deciding how to use them.

    Full Citation: Sharkey, N. S., & Murnane, R. J. (2006). Tough choices in designing a formative assessment system. American Journal of Education 112(4), 572-588.

    Selected Reviewer Comments: "Good language, easy to read." "For a district just beginning or thinking about beginning a formative assessment program, this would be helpful." "Very extensive set of references from very well known people on the topic." "This article describes one school districtís attempts to implement a math formative assessment systemÖthe authors utilize the findings from this qualitative case study to shed light on the challenges educators faced in choosing and implementing formative assessment."

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