A fourth-grade teacher intends to use student performance data to guide lesson planning for small-group reading and remediation of specific skills. Which action is most appropriate for using the data to inform instruction?

• A. Analyzing data prior to adjusting instructional goals and delivery
• B. Analyzing data after adjusting instructional goals and delivery
• C. Analyzing data to determine formative descriptions of performance
• D. Ignoring data and continuing with the current plan

Answer: (A)

Using student performance data to guide instruction relies on making planning decisions that are grounded in actual needs. Analyzing the data before you adjust what you plan to teach and how you deliver it helps you spot specific skill gaps, determine which students belong in small groups, and choose targeted strategies that address those gaps. This proactive step ensures remediation is focused on real weaknesses—such as decoding, fluency, or comprehension—and aligns goals, grouping, and instructional delivery with what students show they need.

If you wait to analyze data after making changes, you risk basing modifications on guesswork rather than on evidence, which can misalign instruction with students’ true needs. Merely using data to describe performance without tying it to planned instruction doesn’t directly inform how to teach next. And ignoring data altogether leaves persistent gaps unaddressed.