Lesson 6 of 6 · 5 min · 8-card deck

Using assessment data to inform teaching

Looking at the right data, drawing the right conclusions.

Assessment data is only useful if it changes what you do next. Schools generate enormous amounts of data — RAG ratings, predicted grades, intervention spreadsheets — most of which never reaches the lesson plan. Focus on data that drives a specific teaching action.

The most useful classroom data is question-level: which specific questions did pupils get wrong, and why? This points directly to a reteach, a different example, a misconception to address. Aggregate data ('average 62%') tells you almost nothing about what to teach next.

Active recall flashcards

Work through every card. Try to answer in your head before flipping — the act of retrieving is what builds durable memory.

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Practice scenario

After a Year 9 mock, the teacher analyses which questions caused most lost marks across the cohort. She reteaches the top three areas in the next fortnight, retests, and tracks the gain — rather than just recording the original mock score in the markbook.

Try this in your classroom

Focus on question-level data, not just totals.
Tie every data observation to a specific teaching action.
Treat predictions as signals, not ceilings.
Refuse to participate in data exercises that don't change what you teach.