How long does it take for a district to establish a process?
Districts using data-driven decision making estimate that they spend at least one year planning the system and developing community support for it. Building the system and rolling it out will take at least two years. Veteran planners recommend aligning the process with a major initiative that the stakeholders have control over and responsibility for, such as recruitment, achievement, or enrollment. Some risk should be required in order to prove to skeptics that the process works. Data-driven decision making is an on-going process rather than a one-time project. District staff members need to be open and honest about results and have the freedom and responsibility to test and try new strategies for improvement. Legitimate concerns about assessment tools, data, and curriculum should be acknowledged and addressed as the district refines the process. The result is a common understanding of what goes into the aggregate data and a process for helping each student meet the same standard for s
