Linking Data and Learning: The Grow Network Study

Abstract

During the last decade, standards, assessments, and accountability have emerged as three prongs of a national education reform movement that has asked district and school administrators to think very differently about educational decision making and the use of data. However, research about data-driven decision making is limited, especially concerning teachers. This article describes findings from a 2-year exploratory study that examined how educators within the New York City public school system are using data-made available to teachers through the print- and Web-based reporting systems of the Grow Network-to inform decisions about teaching and learning. In this article, we summarize what we learned about the specific ways in which teachers and administrators make use of the Grow Reports® to inform educational practices.