What should be analyzed to identify the causes of gaps in student performance?

Analyzing assessment results is crucial for identifying the causes of gaps in student performance because these results provide direct evidence of what students know and can do. They highlight areas in which students are excelling and areas where they are struggling, allowing educators to pinpoint specific skills or concepts that may not be fully grasped.

Assessment results can reveal trends over time, demonstrate achievement gaps between different student populations, and indicate whether instructional methods are effective. They serve as a comprehensive measure of student understanding and achievement, helping educators make informed decisions about instructional strategies, support services, and resource allocation. By focusing on assessment data, educators can implement targeted interventions to address the identified gaps, ultimately enhancing student performance throughout the school.

In contrast, while demographic data, teacher evaluations, and curriculum effectiveness are all important components of educational analysis, they provide a different type of insight. For example, demographic data may highlight background factors that affect learning but do not show specific learning outcomes. Teacher evaluations focus on the performance of educators rather than the direct outcomes of student learning, and curriculum effectiveness assesses the components of what is taught but not necessarily how well students are learning it. Therefore, assessment results are the most direct and actionable source of information for addressing performance gaps.