Dr. Vincent Castano, Director of Institutional EffectivenessJanet Sexton, Data Management (Institutional Effectiveness)

Colleges are consistently being asked to measure their performance. Gathering meaningful data is more important than ever. Below are a few examples of data driven change:

Program Review: Annual process for the assessment of all educational programs and support services. The annual review process enables the College to prioritize short-term and long-range planning objectives to meet the changing needs of the community.

Assessment: An on-going process that helps focus our collective attention, examine our assumptions, and create a shared academic culture dedicated to improving the quality of education. Assessment provides concrete information that is used to make improvements in our processes and products, and documents the impact of those improvements.

NCCCS Performance Measures for Student Success: These measures monitor performance data for each community college. The community college system reports on performance measures, core indicators of success, for purposes of accountability and performance funding.

What is the specific goal that I seek? What am I trying to measure?

Data-Driven Change begins with defining the variables (begin organizing and assembling the pieces). What should the picture of the puzzle resemble? Get to know your staff and understand their job

responsibilities.

All of the pieces may not precisely fit.

Once you have designated a specific goal, the data collection begins. But first, ask these questions…

What will you compare? Compare similar things, people, events. Compare “apples” with “apples.”

Should I measure before, during and/or after?

Decide if and how you will construct end result assessments.

Consider the pros and cons of using different comparisons.

Bernhardt, V. (1998). Data analysis for comprehensive school-wide improvement. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, Inc.

Fink, E. & Resnick, L. (2001). Developing principals as instructional leaders. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(8), 598-606.

Fullan, M., (2001). The new meaning of educational change, The third edition. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Hord, S. (1992). Facilitative leadership: The imperative for change. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.