Why You Should Track Data in Middle School ELA

Tracking data sounds like the farthest thing from a good time, but I firmly stand by it. A few years ago, I was feeling lost in my content. We were moving ahead on schedule with the curriculum, but I felt like my students were falling farther and farther behind. Could standards based assessments be the solution?

When I finally decided to take a pause on content and dig into the problems my students were facing, it was hard to know where to begin. I didn’t have easily accessible records of my students’ performance, which meant a lot of digging to find out where my students were struggling and how to help them.

When you keep track of your students’ data, the process becomes easy-peasy. There is no more digging or head scratching to figure out what your students need. All the information is at your fingertips. (Want more information on what you can do with your students’ data? Read this blog post.) Here is why you should keep track of your students’ data.

#1: Differentiation

Ah, you’ve heard it before. As teachers, we have to differentiate. Basically, differentiation is when we adapt our instruction to meet the needs of every student. Easier said than done, but tracking data really helps the process. By tracking data, we become very aware of our students strengths and weaknesses, so when it’s time to differentiate, we know what each of our students need.

#2: Small Groups

Similarly to differentiation, small groups become much simpler when we track our students’ data. Using formative or summative assessments, we can dificer which students need a reteach, extra help, or extension. (P.S. This process becomes even easier when you use standards based assessments. Read my blog about standards based assessments here.) As we track our students’ data, we can even adapt and change our groups.

#3: Intervention and RTI

When we track our students’ data, we can uncover problems much easier and quicker. If you notice that a student is consistently struggling or performing poorly on assessments, then it’s time to consider intervention. Once you have implemented an intervention plan or RTI, you should continue to track students data and look for progress. If there is no progress, your intervention may not be working, and you need to consider another avenue. If the student is showing improvement, then you have data to back up your use of this intervention.

#4: Important Documents such as IEPs

Part of being a teacher is having students with varied abilities in our classroom. At some point, you will have an IEP meeting or a parent will ask for feedback while they work with a doctor on diagnosing learning disabilities. Having data is extremely important for these important documents. You want to be able to show whether the current accommodations in place for a student are appropriate and working, or if you can recommend interventions for students. 

#5: Communication with Families and Guardians

Your students’ grown-ups are not in your classroom every day. They do not know what their child is learning or how they are performing except for the grades that get sent home. Having data of students’ progress is important for keeping parents informed and opening communication. Don’t feel pressured to always provide updates, but instead, set aside times throughout the year to show grown-ups their child’s progress. This may be during parent-teacher conferences. If you notice a student struggling, however, it is best to get their grown-ups involved and keep them in the loop.

#6: Inform Your Instruction with Standards Based Assessments

It’s always said that data informs instruction, but it can be hard when you feel the pressure of getting through content. However, tracking data is ultimately only successful when you use the information to help you and your students. Use the data from assessments to decide what content needs to be retaught, spiraled in, or extended on. If you feel that the data you collect is overwhelming and hard to weed through, read my blog on standards based assessments. I talk about how using SBA can make data easy to use.

#7: Reflect on Your Teaching

Lastly, tracking data helps you reflect on your teaching. I don’t mean this in a beat-yourself-up kind of way. In education, data is often used against teachers. When I say reflect, I mean use data to truly see where your own strengths and weaknesses as a teacher lie. If you find that students perform excellently on comprehension questions, but struggle with inferencing, you may need to work on how to teach that concept. Perhaps you haven’t focused on it enough, or maybe you need someone to model how they teach it. This doesn’t make you a bad teacher – actually, it makes you an awesome one for being willing to grow.

More Information About Standards Based Assessments

Want to know more about standards based assessments and how they can help you? Check out the rest of the posts in this series.

• What Are Standards Based Assessments?
• 5 Ways to Assess Students’ Learning
• Why You Should Track Data in Middle School ELA
• How to Use Standards Based Assessment Data