Guide to Layering Questioning Lenses

Use this guide to support deeper analysis of data. The purpose of this guide is to support teams with analyzing
data by applying multiple questioning lens. By applying multiple lens, your team will gain a more
comprehensive understanding of the data and arrive at solutions that consider the complex nature of the data.
In using this guide, it is recommended that when looking at data, you select a specific content area, or a specific
student outcome or data element (e.g., FAST growth and achievement for students who are not meeting
proficiency and making flat growth). Then, apply at least one question from each of the three questioning lenses
to the data element you are analyzing.
Questioning Lens Questions
Trend Analysis 1. What is the direction of growth when looking across years?
a. Are there peaks or dips in the trend? What was different in those years and
Analyzing data to may explain the peaks or dips?
understand patterns and 2. When looking at particular groups of students (e.g., “Behind, but above average
generate hypotheses that growth”), what patterns do you notice for students who are (e.g., English learners,
explain the patterns.
advanced learners, students of color, students with disabilities)?
3. When looking at your group of students who are in the “Typical Growth” and
“Aggressive Growth” categories, were there any programs, curriculum, or strategies
that were in place for some or all of those students that may have contributed to their
above expected growth?
4. When looking at your group of students who are in the “Flat Growth” and “Modest
Growth” categories, were there any programs, curricula, or strategies that were in place
or were lacking for some or all of those students that may have contributed to their
below expected growth?

Discipline Data
1. What is the direction of the trend when looking across years?
a. Are there peaks or dips in the trend? What was different in those years and
may explain the peaks or dips?
b. What programming/strategies may explain some of these differences?
c. Is the direction of the trend consistent across locations? Why or Why not
d. Is the direction of the trend consistent across times in the school day? Why or
why not?
2. Is the direction of the trend consistent throughout the school year? Why or why not?
a. What may explain low or high peaks for particular months of the year?
3. When looking at particular discipline data (e.g., suspensions, referrals), what patterns
do you notice for students who are (e.g., English learners, advanced learners, students
of color, students with disabilities)?
4. What programming/strategies may be responsible for varying student outcomes?
a. What programming/strategies contributed to positive gains?
b. To what degree does programming/strategy implementation affect student
outcomes? Why or why not?

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Ellina Xiong
 Questioning Lens Questions
Critical Consciousness Self-Reflection
1. How do my values and social/cultural/lived experiences affect how I interpret the data?
Analyzing data with the 2. How does the most predominant factor about my identity affect how I interpret data?
intent to understand the 3. What surprised me about the data?
social and political a. Why did it surprise me? What does this mean about how I see data?
factors that contributed to
student outcomes and 4. What are the assumptions that I/my team are making about the data?
influenced the a. Why am I/my team making these assumptions?
interpretation of data. b. How have these assumptions stopped me/my team from engaging in further
conversations and our progress toward actionable steps? What must I/we do in
order to move forward?
c. What data/evidence confirms the assumptions?
d. What data/evidence challenges the assumptions?
5. How can I/my team do better at anticipating causes of disparities?
a. What will we do when we know?

System Reflection
1. Given the strategy that was implemented, was the outcome surprising? Why or why
not?
a. What components of the strategy seemed to work? For whom did the strategy
seem to work?
b. What are we lacking to do for students who are not excelling?
c. How can we do better?
2. How do the values of the school or pedagogical framework affect selected
strategies/programming for implementation?
a. What assumptions were made in selecting the strategy/program?
3. What are the programs/curricula/strategies that are excelling students? For which
students? Why are the strategies excelling students?
4. What programs/curricula/strategies may be perpetuating disparities?
a. What can I/my team do to disrupt this process?
5. What theory have I/my team based students’ lack of growth or low performance? (e.g.,
mobility, low attendance, instructional mismatch)
a. How did I/my team arrive at this theory? Why did we arrive at this theory?
b. What data or stories support this theory?
c. What data or stories challenge this theory?
6. What does the data not tell us? What are the missing details or stories?

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 Questioning Lens Questions
Culturally 1. How have we integrated students’ cultural experiences as they engage in school and
Responsiveness the curriculum?
2. How do students gain insight in seeing their way of knowing and being as valuable?
Analyzing data with the 3. What are the stories and nuances behind differences in student outcomes?
intent to understand the 4. Whose voices and values have shaped current structures and policies? Why?
extent that cultural
a. What do I/my team perceive the missing voice would say?
relevance and
responsiveness are b. What can I/my team do to gain insight into the missing voices? How would we
accounted for in students’ gather information and conduct outreach?
school experiences. 5. To what extent are the values shaping school structures/systems and practices
reflective of the homes in our school community?
a. What evidence confirms that school structures/systems and practices reflect the
homes in our school community?
b. What evidence contradicts that school structures/systems and practices reflect
the homes in our school community?
c. What strategy will we implement to better integrate community values and
knowledge?
6. How are school programming optimizing on student strengths and cultural assets?
a. What outreach must be pursued to better understand student strengths and
assets?
b. How are the strengths and assets part of the curriculum?
c. How are these effects being measured?
7. To what extent have families and community been actively engaged in the process of
setting standards and practices for our school?

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Ellina Xiong