Promoting Data Literacy: Using Social and Emotional Learning Assessment Data to Inform Teaching and Learning

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Data Science in Education
• Assessment and Evaluation

Background:

• Schools often lack the capacity to effectively interpret and utilize assessment data.
• Social and emotional learning (SEL) data is crucial for student well-being but challenging to implement.
• Data literacy is essential for informed decision-making in educational settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To illustrate the effectiveness of advise-and-design sessions for enhancing data literacy.
• To explore how schools can unpack, interpret, and act on assessment data, particularly SEL data.
• To develop a protocol for data-informed decision-making in schools.

Main Methods:

• Utilized advise-and-design sessions, a series of focus groups, with educators and students.
• Conducted 4-5 sessions per participant group during Spring 2024.
• Analyzed audio recordings of sessions using thematic inductive coding.

Main Results:

• Key findings included data-driven introductory positioning, in-depth data review, and data-informed actions.
• Participants engaged in unpacking and making sense of assessment data.
• The process facilitated the translation of data insights into actionable strategies.

Conclusions:

• Advise-and-design sessions provide a structured approach to improving school-based data literacy.
• The developed protocol can guide schools in using assessment data to enhance teaching and learning.
• Empowering stakeholders with data interpretation skills is vital for student success.