Developing schools' capacity to make performance judgements: data club final report

The Western Australian Education Department sought to identify and document best practice in supporting school communities to make judgements about performance in relation to benchmark standards.  The project included a review of Australian and international literature documenting best practice in provision of comparative student performance data to schools.  It provided a background analysis concerning the relationship between student performance data and school improvement, and technical discussions of the “like-schools” and “value-added” analytical strategies.  On the basis of this analysis seven recommendations were made for the use of the Western Australian Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (WALNA) data.  An options paper, comprising of a set of options for representing State-wide benchmark assessment data to schools, was provided to the Department.  Data display and self-evaluation strategies were developed to assist school communities to make fair, accurate and defensible inferences about school and student performance.  Finally, consultations were undertaken with schools, school district staff, parents and community groups to explain and adopt benchmark data.  The report includes a detailed appendix which discusses the Data Club and its impact on Western Australian primary schools.  This appendix analyses why principals signed up for the Data Club, the use being made of WALNA data, the professional development provided as part of the Data Club, and related issues, including confidence in WALNA testing.

Electronic version only available from the Department.  Print copies may be available for loan from your local library.

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