In the game of data analysis, success is crossing home plate. Grade-level standard is achieved, growth happens, learners progress… and everyone cheers. The thing is, some are starting the game on third base, and others are swinging with two strikes.
We all sit in data meetings—some of us even endure data days—to analyze what students need so they can grow as learners. This is a wise practice built on good intentions, but often, educators check out. We look at the data, see all of the deficits, and believe nothing can be done. Sometimes educators believe it’s just the way things are; some kids will strike out and others will cross home plate.
But what if the problem isn’t the students but the data stories we are telling? With good intentions, we’ve focused on the learning gaps that the data reveals. We look at the data to discover what is lacking. This is a deficit approach to data analysis, and it is swiping the momentum needed for students to grow.
In Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things, Adam Grant writes, “The true measure of your potential is not the height of the peak you’ve reached, but how far you’ve climbed to get there.” This makes me wonder how we can give the data a second look to extend data stories and discover the hidden potential in students.
Draw a Bigger Circle
If the only storyline we create is one of deficit data, then it shouldn’t be surprising that teachers (and students and their families) become frustrated and begin to feel like they cannot make a difference.
When we tell only a single (deficit) story from the data, it is easy to believe the false narrative that we won’t ever be a data “success story.” What might happen if we discover a more well-rounded data story? Rather than focusing only on the learning gaps, we could use a second look at data to reshape students’ stories to include
- academic wins,
- fostering agency,
- behavior supports, and
- cultivating community and connections.
These four areas help us see a more complete picture of a student. If you are interested in reshaping data stories, let’s begin with these four lenses.
A Note About Data
Data is a buzzword in education. It can refer to a variety of test results as well as formative data collected in the classroom through local assessments and observations.
Academic Wins
Data can reveal the academic wins for students. Academic wins are the things a student knows and understands. They can also be things students almost know. When we shift our data conversations to the things students almost know, then we begin to discover opportunities for growth. Building on what is known is a powerful learning strategy. Additionally, when we take an asset approach to data, we build students’ confidence, an important component in developing the potential for growth.
Fostering Agency
Agency is a sense of control over your life. When people have a strong sense of agency, they believe they are capable of handling a wide range of situations or tasks. We can take a second look at data to discover if students are able to do the skill again and again in different situations. Automaticity is an essential component of determining whether a student has mastered a skill.
It is crucial for students to believe they are the kind of people who grow as learners. Let’s look for evidence showing that students believe in their ability to learn.
Behavior Supports
By taking a second look at data, we can discover behavior supports students may need to make academic gains. It is possible that the learning gap is caused not by a lack of skills but by dysregulation. When a child doesn’t have the capacity to control their emotional responses, it can create chaos. Sometimes this chaos is obvious, but other times it is internal. We must be savvy to determine if dysregulated behavior, rather than a lack of skills, is the root cause of low assessment data.
This is a complicated situation, because when students have experienced trauma, they often have unpredictable behavior and will score low on assessments. It is important to know if students need strategies to maintain regulation and focus.
Cultivating Community and Connection
In foster-parent training, it was brought to my attention that it’s important to build a web of support around a child. A single person is not enough to help someone grow; we must create multiple relationships to help a child be well nourished and healthy. This idea has merit when we consider the growth we want to support in school. An imperative second look may include the relationships that support a student. If we find a nearly nonexistent web of support, we can consider ways to connect others to invest in the student. The more healthy connections a student has, the more likely they are to grow… not just in social skills but also in academic skills.
Where to Begin?
It is important that we are realistic with what the data reveals; there are often gaps between what a student knows and the expected skills. Let’s not minimize needs. At the same time, we may not realize that we’ve taken a negative attitude toward student learning. The first step to extending a data story is to be aware of the deficit stories that are cropping up in our conversations. Then give the data a second look. Use these four lenses to determine if there is more the student needs than what we determined at first glance.
It’s heartbreaking to believe we don’t have the ability to make a difference. It’s also a false narrative. It’s true that helping children grow is complicated, and helping children achieve more than a year’s worth of growth is even more complicated. It begins with considering if there is more to the story than the first look at the data reveals.
