“If there’s teaching going on but the students aren’t learning, is it really teaching?”
Norman Atkins, Foreword to Driven by Data, Jossey-Bass 2010

This question encapsulates the simple idea that Data Driven Instruction introduces to schools.

Instead of focusing on what the teacher is teaching or supposed to teach, emphasis is placed on whether and what the students are actually learning. Using rigorous assessments at regular intervals (every four-six weeks), Data Driven Instruction provides meaningful data on what students are learning. Teachers and principals analyze the data to identify areas of strength and weakness, and act by creating strategies to reteach what students need to learn most.