The Data-Informed District: A district-wide evaluation of data use in the Natrona County School District. Retrieved February 1, 2010 from http://edadmin.edb.utexas.edu/datause

For years, educational entities have collected data on school process and student learning. Recent accountability policies have brought public attention to these data, increased the amount of data collected, and tied funding to certain characteristics of these data. Consequently, educators respond to reporting requirements while simultaneously struggling with better ways to understand these data internally to improve practice. To understand and improve district data use, individuals from the Natrona County School District (NCSD) commissioned a district-wide evaluation of data uses and procedures for data-based decision-making. In this report, we present findings from this evaluation. Results provided an in-depth description of data use at every level, showing the hardships of using data but also highlighting many positive structures upon which to build an effective initiative. As a result of this evaluation, the authors recommended the following: (a) a framework to guide NCSD in establishing itself as a data-informed district where data and practice are integrated throughout; (b) a plan for acquiring an efficient data system that can integrate data district-wide; (c) a blueprint for NCSD to use in establishing a healthy, district-wide data initiative; and (d) specific issues for NCSD to address in getting up to speed on data use, such as school dropouts, school differences, public perception, and areas for further study.