This toolkit includes three tools to help teachers use data from their classroom assessments to evaluate promising teaching practices:

1. A planning guide that introduces teachers to an instructional improvement cycle in which they compare the learning results from one group of students who receive a new classroom instructional strategy (experimental group) with those of another group of students who receive a traditional strategy (comparison group) using a scientific approach.
2. A preprogrammed Excel spreadsheet that allows teachers to compare the performance of students who receive the strategy (experimental group) with that of a similar group of students who do not (comparison group).
3. A reflection guide that provides information on how to interpret and reflect on the results.

Supporting materials

• Toolkit Part 1 Planning Guide (DOCX)
• Toolkit Part 2 Excel Analysis Tool Instructions (DOCX)
• Toolkit Part 3 Reflection Guide (DOCX)
• Central Excel Analysis Tool (XLSX)

Supporting videos

• Implementing the Instructional Improvement Cycle Toolkit: Teachers Reflect on Their Action Research Experiences (YouTube)
• An Introduction to the Instructional Improvement Cycle: A Teacher's Toolkit (YouTube)
• Instructional Improvement Cycle Toolkit: Planning Guide (Vimeo)
• Instructional Improvement Cycle Toolkit: Excel Analysis Tool (Vimeo)
• Instructional Improvement Cycle Toolkit: Reflection Guide (Vimeo)

For more information and to review the full report, please visit:

• Institute of Education Sciences

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