Dateline Washington — While teacher professional development continues to be scrutinized by research and the media, the Long Beach Unified School District is getting it right with data.  A new video by the Data Quality Campaign shows how using data empowers Long Beach teachers to match their learning needs to the learning needs of students.

“Data informs every decision that we make,” said Long Beach Supt.  Christopher Steinhauser. “Data is not seen as a bad thing here. It is actually seen as your friend.”

Critics of teacher professional development recommend moving from a one-size-fits-all approach to a tailored method that serves the different needs of teachers. This is what Long Beach has done with data.

By embedding student data dashboards within its professional development system, Long Beach teacher training evaluates teachers’ needs based on their students’ academic performance data, teachers’ past training, self-evaluations and administrative feedback.

Once the needs are assessed, the system helps teachers create a personal learning plan. As teachers follow the plan, it gives them feedback on their growth by pulling information from student academic performance data, coaching feedback, and observations.

“When teachers are empowered with meaningful data, teaching and learning improves,” said Paige Kowalski, vice president of Policy and Advocacy at the Data Quality Campaign.