Data-driven school improvement - opportunities, challenges, and scalable solutions

Current data compilation, processing, and reporting practices, as part of education management information systems, provide snapshots that are used by decision-makers to consider overall needs for the improvement of education systems. However, the potential to use data to inform policy and improvement of individual schools remains largely underdeveloped.

This project aims to generate knowledge to optimize the use of data produced by schools to improve their own management and results, and to inform how other levels of the education system can support improvement at the school level. It is based on a proven experience in two provinces in Pakistan, called the School Improvement Framework. In addition to compiling relevant information on key educational indicators, this innovation creates a structure that meaningfully organizes and translates data into actionable information for stakeholders at the different levels of government.

Indicators in key domains present information on student participation and personal development, teachers and teaching, leadership and school support, and school environment. Combined into a composite index, the data allow schools to assess themselves, and to be categorized by level of need for improvement. There is promising potential to scale the impact of this innovation to improve the organization, interpretation, and use of data at all levels for school improvement. The project combines quantitative and qualitative approaches in an action research design involving school communities and education managers. Expected outputs include a contextualized path to scaling up the innovation in Laos, Nepal, and Pakistan.

This project was selected through the Global Partnership for Education Knowledge and Innovation Exchange call for proposals in Europe, Asia and the Pacific region entitled “Generating and mobilizing innovative knowledge for regional education challenges”.