Using Data Dashboards to Drive Continuous Quality Improvement

Introducing Data Dashboards

Realizing the need to build a culture that truly utilizes data to guide continuous quality improvement, Westside Head Start (WSHS) in Arizona began designing professional data dashboards beginning in August 2018.

However, once the dashboards were built, it was immediately evident that the vast amounts of data overwhelmed the leadership team. The Executive Director quickly realized that building a culture of data would take time and that he needed to introduce it to his team in small increments, modeling how to use the dashboards to drive CQI.

At each leadership team meeting, the ED began splitting up the team into 3 small groups. To start, he tasked each group with analyzing just the visualizations around the program’s CLASS scores from the preceding years. (They called this exercise “Data Tours” to reflect the Focus Area 2 terminology.)

In reviewing the CLASS data from their in-house assessors, the team immediately saw bias in their assessment scores. This was a concern they had had previously, but hadn’t been able to confirm until they actually visualized the data. As a result of this finding, WSHS began contracting out for all future CLASS assessments instead of using in-house staff.

First Action: Switching to Outside Assessors

After completing their first round of CLASS assessments with the outside contractor, WSHS once again looked at the data. A cross-sector of key stakeholders from across the organization met to identify training, T/TA, and coaching needs for the agency as a whole and for individual staff members. Based on their scores, teachers were identified as needing specific small group, cohort, or 1:1 instruction.

This group continued meeting over several months, working through many considerations, and ultimately developed a robust plan for improving CLASS scores. This plan included: (a) domain- and dimension-specific training for the whole program in areas with lower scores, and (b) intensive coaching for specific staff identified as needing support.

WSHS also created an app for CLASS assessors that allows them to record data electronically while out in the field, reducing the risk of possible errors with manual data entry.