Use evidence (including, but not limited to student achievement, attendance, behavior and school climate data, research, and best practices) to shape and revise plans, programs, and activities that advance the vision.

This standard emphasizes the importance of using a wide range of evidence to inform decision-making and drive continuous improvement efforts that align with the school's vision. Here's an expansion on how evidence can be utilized to shape and revise plans, programs, and activities:

1. Begin with a consequential question: Define the decision the team must make, the students and outcomes involved, and what evidence would be relevant before opening a dashboard or requesting a report.

2. Build a balanced evidence set: Bring achievement, growth, attendance, behavior, course access, school climate, student work, implementation evidence, and stakeholder experience together when the question requires them.

3. Check quality and comparability: Confirm definitions, collection periods, participation, missing records, subgroup protections, and changes in systems or practice before comparing results.

4. Disaggregate without stereotyping: Examine patterns across student groups and settings while resisting deficit explanations and protecting confidentiality when groups are small.

5. Add context and lived experience: Use interviews, listening sessions, observations, and student or family feedback to explain patterns that administrative records cannot interpret alone.

6. Test competing explanations: Ask what else could produce the observed pattern, seek evidence that might challenge the preferred account, and distinguish correlation from a plausible cause.

7. Connect findings to the shared vision: State how the evidence supports, complicates, or contradicts the school’s priorities and which commitments should govern the response.

8. Select a bounded response: Match the scope of the action to the strength of the evidence, identify responsible people and resources, and specify what implementation should look like.

9. Monitor implementation and effects: Use short-cycle indicators to determine whether the planned action occurred, whom it reached, and whether student experience or outcomes changed as intended.

10. Close the learning loop: Return findings to the people who contributed evidence, document what was learned, and revise, expand, or discontinue the response transparently.

By using evidence, including student achievement, attendance, behavior and school climate data, research, and best practices, to shape and revise plans, programs, and activities, educational leaders can make informed decisions that drive meaningful and sustainable improvement towards achieving the school's vision and goals.