With the requirements of No Child Left Behind and Florida's initiatives to improve student achievement, most teachers realize they can no longer rely only on intuition, instinct or tradition. Data analysis has become an important tool in demonstrating and evaluating student achievement as well as teacher and program effectiveness. Common uses of data in schools include student performance assessment (such as standardized tests, grade point averages, and other assessments) and the collection of student ethnographic information. Analyzing data is not just the job of the principal, a statistician or a District leader. All members of the school faculty can collect and study data as part of their decision-making strategies and to obtain an accurate picture of school programs and individual student performance. Data analysis by itself does not solve educational problems. But it can be an effective strategy for improving instruction and student achievement-both important goals of individual teachers, school faculties, school districts and State Departments of Education. It is also important that individuals interpreting data have a basic understanding of statistics. Understanding that ineffective or inappropriately used instruments can lead to measurement error and distorted results is key for those designing data collection instruments, as well as those analyzing and then interpreting the results. Lack of standardization and objectivity can also skew the results of educational research. How Data Analysis Affects You