At the half way point of the first week of school teachers are busy analysing whatever data sets they can get their hands on so that they go into the classroom armed with the knowledge of how best to teach their students.

With the overwhelming supplies of data and numerous reports that you can get we are overloaded with so much of it sometimes it seems impossible to work out which piece to use. Should I draw conclusions from NAPLAN, last years results, behaviour, effort, PAT test, ICAS test and on and on it goes.

Here’s 5 easy steps to integrate and draw conclusions from your set of data.

1. Look at your NAPLAN and previous year results to determine the spread of students in your class. (This is simply to determine how broad your differentiation may be.)

2. Identify students that are trending upwards by 2 or more bands in NAPLAN and one achievement standard in their previous results. Also look for students trending down in NAPLAN and achievement.

3. Identify students with behavioural or effort concerns and make an additional effort to form a rapport with students that is not related to the class subject. (I don’t mean be their friend)

4. Looking at all data sets holistically, divide your class into 3 sections for differentiation targets (Template example here). Extend, at level, below level. Your aim is to extend all of these levels you are just determining your starting point for each group of students.

5. Implement your own testing that gives you specific information regarding your particular topic and context. This ensures that you are getting targeted data and can plan based on the what they already know. (Show me or Pretest)

How do you wade through the mountains of data to get meaning for your classes? Comment below or on our facebook page.