How confident are you in your data?

Schools seem to be flooded with data: from tests, feedback, teacher assessments…. but does all your data tell the same story.  

If you had to choose two teachers within your school to assess the ability of your pupils, would each child be given the same score by the two teachers? If every child had to give feedback on a lesson would they all have the same view?

Before you start any analysis or taking any actions based on your data, you need to decide how confident are you in the data. Otherwise, no matter how good your analysis is you will just have Rubbish in = Rubbish Out.

Here are some questions that can help you think about your data,

• How was my data collected? Was it a survey that pupils fill in themselves or did someone ask them questions? Could this have impacted the results?

• When was it collected? Are there any outside factors that have caused a movement in the data? Could a positive or negative event at home change how a child performs in a test?

• Who is included in the data? Are you comparing data like for like, e.g. is the increase/decrease in scores due to pupils leaving the school?

Once you are happy with the data you are using, combining data from different sources can be powerful. A number of schools I work with are already doing this. Some look at standardised tests scores with teacher assessments. (Attainment Tracker with NGRT data)

If you would like some support with your data, please get in touch.