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Multiple Indicators

Multiple indicators are necessary to measure the multiple systems that operate within a school. Measuring student achievement is not the same as measuring the quality of teaching and learning. Multiple indicators are an improvement to using only student achievement scores as the measure of student and school success. The core principle is that better information about education can help improve education.

Multiple indicators necessitate multiple methods of data collection and reporting. Results from measuring multiple indicators yield voluminous data on the outcomes and the operation of a school that is more comparable and reliable. This data allows more precise actions to be taken and resources to be provided to improve the operation of the system as well as student learning.

Educational indicator systems, using multiple indicators, fulfill the need to understand, monitor and enhance educational quality and for holding school accountable. Educational indicator systems are a mixture of outcome measures, organizational effectiveness measures, input measures, and student difference measures. Each of these areas has an impact on student learning as should be perceived as an integrated whole that works as a system.

Indicators can be established at the student level, the classroom level, the teacher level, and the school organizational level. Some indicator systems also include community context indicators. Each of these levels becomes a data set that can answer a number of questions about the operation of the school.

Characteristics of an effective indicator system include:

• Primary focus on the school level
• Use of multiple indicators of school performance
• Use of multiple measurement and data collection techniques
• Use of adaptive indicators that evolve over time
• Focus on school change and improvement over time.

For additional information on establishing educational indicator systems, please see the Educational Resources Information Clearinghouse for Assessment and Evaluation and search for educational indicators. This search will yield a number of practical examples and background articles. Also see the National Center for Education Statistics for the common core of data initiative that aims to systematize data terminology and collection methods across the states.