The impressive scores show that our bilingual kids outperform their monolingual peers across the board in language usage, reading, and math. The outcomes are no less than impressive and proof our equation of IB + Immersion + Global Mindedness works. Our holistic assessment philosophy puts students at the heart of their learning, guided by data-driven instruction to support each learner’s journey.

But what, exactly, is data-driven instruction and why do we use it?

Data-driven instruction is a teaching methodology that utilizes the ongoing collection of student data to improve the quality of instruction. This data can be derived from a variety of meaningful sources, not limited to:

• Open-ended questions
• Classroom discussions
• Student work
• Written, Oral, and Visual Assessments 
• MAP data
• Target Language assessments like Istation, Level Chinese, Lalilo 

An ongoing rhythm directs the flow of information into a cycle in three main steps. The teacher:

1. Collects data (formative and summative assessments, classroom observations, etc.)
2. Analyzes the data: the learning process, the distance from the learning goals, patterns that emerge
3. Acts on the data: they readjust their teaching to meet their students where they are and with what they need. 

Data-driven instruction allows us to do five important things:

1. Informs Instruction: Assessment data guides teachers in tailoring lessons to meet student needs in realtime.
2. Personalizes Student Support: Identifies areas where students need enrichment or intervention, leading to small-group instruction, targeted feedback, and differentiated tasks.
3. Shapes Curriculum Development: Highlights trends that inform adjustments to scope and sequence, ensuring vertical and horizontal alignment across grades.
4. Supports Strategic Resource Allocation: Data helps determine where additional support, training, or tools are needed (e.g., adding literacy specialists or math enrichment programs).
5. Strengthens Teacher Collaboration: Teachers use data in collaborative planning sessions to share best practices and align instruction across subjects and grades.

Data-driven instruction gives us meaningful context for teaching to a student’s needs IRL.

We use data-driven instruction to truly meet students where they are and provide them with what they need to continue into their learning journey. Teachers have various strategies in their teaching toolbox when it comes to delivering instruction. Data-driven instruction is a teaching strategy that compliments others by helping identify specific areas in which students need support or enrichment. It is adaptive and ongoing - never just a point-in-time look at static achievement.

- Hélène Hernández-Caudron, Director of Lower Primary 

Inherent to the International Baccalaureate framework is a growth mindset that in itself calls for an assessment approach by which to accomplish it. We find it in data-driven instruction. Teachers are architects of learning excellence and walk alongside students on a learning path to reach their defined goals and success criteria. But, what’s more, we find that this active and ongoing cycle of assessment improves communication with families by offering a more holistic and multi-faceted look into student progress. Perhaps most importantly, this approach helps shift the mindset around assessment to create a culture of positive feedback and foster a love of lifelong learning. 

We are so proud of our community and the quality of education here reflected in the data.