Teachers' Use Of Evaluation Data To Improve Instruction And Its Relationship To Student Achievement

In Germany, teachers can have access to results of state-wide comparison tests, centralized exit examinations and self-evaluations. These data can be used by teachers to reflect on instruction and improve it appropriately. Based on the German National Assessment Study 2012, we examine to what extent teachers use evaluation data, how teachers' use of different evaluation data sources is interrelated, and the relationship between teachers' use of evaluation data and student achievement. The consideration of several evaluation methods allows a contrastive analysis and the investigation of the joint use of several information sources. Results show that a substantial proportion of teachers reports using evaluation data for improving their instruction, although the extent to which they use these data varies. Teachers use multiple data sources to initiate classroom activities. Multilevel analyses revealed no significant direct effects of data-based instructional improvement on student achievement.