Achieving growth through capitalising on students' mathematical data

National testing and reform agendas, with their focus on school improvement, has led to increased collection and scrutiny of student data. The analysis of these data usually occurs at a school level, often by school leaders.
While nationwide testing such as NAPLAN provides teachers with information about students' skills and knowledge in literacy and numeracy, this information is not always capitalised in the classroom. In particular, it is parents, rather than students, that are provided with information about their children's results. Research has shown, however, that the purposeful use of student data can lead to improved school performance. Promising results can occur when students are given the opportunity to scrutinise their individual data and take ownership over the results and subsequent learning experiences.
This paper reports on a study whereby students and teachers collaborated to interpret in-school mathematics test results and identify future teaching and learning directions. The findings showed positive outcomes for students in terms of growth in their mathematical knowledge.