Our Work

Data-Informed Decision Making

Data-Informed Decision Making involves using data to identify student strengths and areas where they need help and then applying what you have learned to your teaching so you can promote student success. This is not a new idea in education – teachers have always observed their students to better understand how to teach them. Boundless Learning, though, uses a structured, formalized process called TAP-IT that helps educators gather and analyze data at any scale, implement interventions based on the data and then track how well the interventions actually work.

TAP-IT breaks down as Team, Analyze, Plan, Implement and Track and this is how it works:

• An implementation team comes together to develop and oversee educational improvements.
• They collect data and analyze it to assess needs and possible strategies to address them.
• Then then plan how to implement these strategies, which can entail acquiring new resources and providing educators with the structural supports they need.
• The implementation step is when the strategies are put into action; as this is happening, the team continues to collect data that can potentially make the strategies even more effective.
• Finally the team tracks the data on an ongoing basis so they can adjust their policies and practices.

A defining feature of TAP IT is the embedded protocol for collaboration — time is dedicated to identifying the team’s purpose, goals, and operating standards; determining team roles; and creating a meeting schedule. This emphasis on collaboration combined with the other effective elements of the TAP IT process can enhance the use of data at the school, district, and state levels.