School Improvement and Effectiveness Underpinned by School-based Data and Research

The technological capacity that now exists to gather and store large amounts of data has improved access to information regarding young people in schools. Improvements in data management techniques and statistical data software packages have made retrieving and analysing systems data a more accessible and manageable process. On a smaller scale, schools collect considerable amounts of data. However, school personnel lack the skills and understanding of the potential for analysis and research. This article describes the application process of a School-based Index Analysis (SIA) successfully applied in several schools. The SIA is a site-specific and site-based research tool that has the potential to enable schools use their own data to direct and monitor their own research.