Steps for Success: Making Instructional Decisions for Students’ Essay Writing

The process of analyzing student data to determine an appropriate instructional decision is crucial for student academic growth. This article details how teachers can make data-driven decisions to carefully design writing instruction. Steps are presented for teachers to follow throughout the data driven decision-making process in order to meet students’ specific needs when they are writing an essay. A case study is provided throughout the article to illustrate how students and teachers may navigate through this process while using a technology-based graphic organizer.