Why Choose Data-Driven Leadership Tools, Anyway?

Studying the data from where we’ve been can give leaders clues about where to aim for next. Here’s how data-driven leadership tools can help district administrators tell their student achievement and school sustainability stories.

 

What is data-driven leadership?

Data-driven leadership in K12 schools is based on actual points of student achievement data, as well as other data including behavior, intervention, funding, staffing, and more. A data-driven leader looks at the reality of the numbers behind activities at school to make decisions. What tools do data-driven leaders need? Data-driven leaders must be able to see a wide variety of data arranged in a way that’s quick to read. Data visualization tells a story faster than having to identify and then arrange data manually. Not only does the data need to be visually compelling, it must also be deep and wide, covering a variety of different sources all compared to the previous year. This kind of comparison is crucial for leaders relying on data.

 

Once we have the data, what’s our next step?

Next, decision making takes place with a variety of stakeholders. District administrators build teams that include all kinds of people from inside the district (teachers, staff, specialists, and students) and outside (community members, families, and alumni). Such a diverse team needs an easy way to communicate insights quickly, which visualization from educational data analytics can support. These data-driven leadership tools take on the task of arranging and presenting thousands of data points, no spreadsheets or slide decks required.

 

Is data-driven leadership better than other styles?

It’s not better or worse, just a different strategy. One upside to being a data-driven leader is that data-driven leadership tools are available to do the heavy lifting of finding, parsing, and analyzing the individual data points that provide insight. A close second is that data doesn’t lie. The real numbers and real results that make up student information can also guide district leaders to the most fruitful path of achievement for their schools.

Let’s explore a couple examples of how district leaders can incorporate deep data stories into their decisions.

In achievement, an administrator may wish to compare school sites through the lens of behavior to measure whether a new anti-bullying initiative is effective.

In finance and HR, maybe one site or department is undergoing a ton of turnover. A superintendent can sort the position data and explore budget for expanding professional development or training.

Or, maybe enrollment is increasing. Is there cause to open a new school site? These types of very high-level questions are important for school administrators to answer accurately and efficiently—and when there’s a compelling and visual data story behind requests, stakeholders including school board leaders can understand needs sooner.


If you’re on the hunt for data-driven leadership tools, please take a look at DistrictPulse, a new cloud-based educational data analytics platform that presents insight as a visual, making data stories easier to share with stakeholders including teachers, staff, students, and families. Learn more.

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Erin Werra Blogger, Researcher, and Edvocate

Erin Werra is a content writer and strategist at Skyward’s Advancing K12 blog. Her writing about K12 edtech, data, security, social-emotional learning, and leadership has appeared in THE Journal, District Administration, eSchool News, and more. She enjoys puzzling over details to make K12 edtech info accessible for all. Outside of edtech, she’s waxing poetic about motherhood, personality traits, and self-growth.