How the Best K-12 Education Leaders Build Data Literacy

In your schools and districts, we’re willing to guess that you’re not lacking in sources of data. Data is everywhere: student records, test scores, learning management systems, budget spreadsheets, survey results, and of course, the individual grading systems of your teachers. 

The true challenge is that while school and student data itself is often plentiful, data literacy around reading and analyzing data and the ability to use it to drive improved results is often a missing piece. Research confirms this: according to a Hanover Research report, only 17% of teachers say they learned how to use data in their educator preparation programs or schooling.

The true challenge is that while school and student data itself is often plentiful, data literacy around reading and analyzing data and the ability to use it to drive improved results is often lacking.

Heather Hill, professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, takes this a step further. She writes in an Education Week piece, “What activity is done by most teachers in the United States, but has almost no evidence of effectiveness in raising student test scores? Answer: Analyzing student assessment data.” She goes on to pinpoint the challenge: it’s one thing to understand where students are struggling—but that knowledge has to change practice and student outcomes. 

We know that data literacy isn’t something that just happens. Getting started with building this kind of foundational knowledge requires a “data champion” who makes sure that everyone understands the importance of data and makes sure that the right information is collected, reviewed, and acted upon based on strategic goals. A champion like you. 

Great school and district leaders aren’t just data champions—they’re “chief data officers.” Let’s take a look at the qualities these leaders have, and how they work with their teams to ensure data is pushing their efforts forward, not keeping them at a standstill. 

They encourage data literacy for students—by prioritizing teacher PD

The Data Literacy Project believes that data literacy will be the most critical skill for the workforce in 2030—a future that isn’t very far away. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts data-focused jobs will grow by 36% between 2021 and 2031. It’s a big reason why great school leaders prioritize teaching students to understand, assess, use, and even create data as part of making sure they’re college and career ready.

While school and district leaders most likely won’t find themselves teaching data literacy in classrooms, the next best thing is to ensure teachers engage with and understand data. In a research study investigating the practices and beliefs of teachers in relation to data literacy, the author argues that a teacher’s ability to incorporate data literacy, analysis, and action planning into their teaching is primarily defined by their own experience with it. 

While school and district leaders most likely won’t find themselves teaching data literacy in classrooms, the next best thing is to ensure teachers engage with and understand data. 

This means that professional development is paramount when it comes to data literacy skills . But how do you, as an educational leader, know what kind of PD works best for your educators? Here are two initial steps to take: 

• Get honest feedback about teacher comfort levels with data: Before you ask your teachers to analyze student performance data, it’s important to gauge a teacher data literacy baseline. One way to do this is through an anonymous survey, where you might ask your teachers to rate their ability to read, write, and communicate data—as well as ask them to share their feelings about analyzing data. Asking for feedback this way will give your teachers and staff the ability to be honest about rating their skill sets, emotions, and belief in their capacity around best practices with data.
  
  
• Roll out data literacy efforts through teacher leaders or assistant principals: Standard data literacy PD courses are a great way to establish general data knowledge—and taking it one step further to develop tailored PD sessions based on your own data and goals is even better. In this school, seven teacher leaders serve as the school community’s data ambassadors—teaching their fellow teachers how to read, review, and process data. And, then make informed decisions. Assistant principals might be a great fit for this work, too!

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They also promote data literacy to their larger school community

If those working in schools and districts on a daily basis find themselves overwhelmed with data, consider parents and families, who might feel doubly overwhelmed—not only with the data they’re being given, but also the way it’s delivered. 

One characteristic of great education leaders is that they know conversations around and understanding of data isn’t reserved for teachers and staff. They’ve seen how sharing data with parents, families, and their larger school community is an effective way to build trust, strengthen relationships, encourage collaboration, and ultimately deliver better student outcomes.

One characteristic of great education leaders is that they know conversations around and understanding of data isn’t reserved for teachers and staff. 

While these examples from the Data Quality Campaign are focused on sharing data through the lens of student report cards, there are still some great takeaways on how to create a general comfort level around data, especially for parents and families. 

• Add a narrative. Instead of simply talking about data, make sure your data tells a story that will grab your audience’s attention. This school leader, for example, thinks about the goals for her data storytelling—taking into account how she wants her audience to feel and the takeaways she wants them to have, especially around student success and school improvement.
  
  
• Use graphs and visuals. Giving your data some visuals is especially helpful when you’re discussing trends over time or points of comparison. If you’re having an open budget meeting and presenting your school spending data, present data from other schools in your district to deliver additional context.
  
  
• Make it easy to find more data: Each group in your school or district will differ on how much data detail they’d like. Give them the most important points directly, and consider creating a space in a parent portal or through a website page to give those who want it an opportunity to dig deeper.
  
  
• Eliminate jargon: There are words, phrases, and acronyms that might be commonplace to you, but lack a concrete definition for your audience. If you report to a group of sixth-grade parents that 85% of sixth-grade students are “on track,” be sure to also include what “on track” means for your school or district. 

They determine—and coach on—the right questions to ask

On the surface, data might seem black and white. That’s why we want it, right? To get answers and make decisions? 

Not quite. Two people with access to the same data can uncover completely different insights. So much of data literacy depends on how you’re approaching a specific problem—and that approach begins by asking the right questions. 

So much of data literacy depends on how you’re approaching a specific problem—and that approach begins by asking the right questions. 

Kevin Hanegan, chief learning officer of data analytics company Qlik and chair of the Data Literacy Project Advisory Board, agrees with this. “Most people work with data backwards,” he says. “They begin with the data they have available, then use tools and techniques to come up with insights. The problem with this is that they end up using very simple, closed, and leading questions—which leads to uninteresting insights.”

This is another trait of high-performing principals and district leaders: they focus on the “why” of their data instead of the “how.” Here are two ways to do the same:

• Identify measures of success: Work with your teachers and staff to establish a data measurement framework with the right objectives and what success looks like for your district, school, and students ahead of time. This helps you get to the questions faster, instead of getting in the weeds on metrics that might not be important to your goals.
  
  
• Use a questioning framework: In author and data strategist Max Shron’s book, “Thinking With Data,” he outlines a questioning framework focused on four parts: asking questions related to the context of the data, the need for the data, the vision for the results of the data, and how the insights from the data will be used. This list of simple yet effective questions can get you started:
  • What do we truly want to know?
  • What are we attempting to measure or monitor?
  • What questions are we asking of the data?
  • What are we hoping to learn about our own teaching or leadership practices as a result of the data?
  • How will the information obtained from this data analysis help to improve our instruction?
  • What areas—instructional, curricular, school culture—need improvement?

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Emphasizing data literacy = having high expectations

Another trait of great principals? They recognize the importance of having high expectations for their entire school community. And focusing on the need for data literacy is another way to impart those high expectations by fostering an environment of accountability, informed decision-making, and continuous improvement.

When all the members of your school community know how to effectively collect, analyze, and utilize data, it’s easier for them to identify areas of growth, set ambitious goals, and make adjustments on the fly—all behaviors that maximize student achievement and adult learning.

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