Figures, such as tables and graphs, can allow stakeholders to effectively organize, analyze, evaluate, and communicate relevant assessment data (Khosravi & Cooper, 2018). Summative assessment data is primarily communicated through tables and graphs to indicate longitudinal achievement trends and correlations according to demographic and subgroup areas (Buzick & Weeks, 2018); funding decisions and actions designed to positively impact student achievement may be more easily understood by experts and non-experts if data visualization is communicated effectively and succinctly through well-designed figures (National Forum on Education Statistics, 2016). For example, Figure 1.1 below clearly illustrates the need for effective use of tables and graphs.
References
Buzick, H., & Weeks, J. (2018). Trends in performance and growth by students with and without disabilities on five state summative assessments. Applied Measurement in Education, 31(4), 269–282. https://doi.org/10.1080/08957347.2018.1495215
Khosravi, H., & Cooper, K. M. L. (2018). Topic dependency models: Graph-based visual analytics for communicating assessment data. Journal of Learning Analytics, 5(3), 136–153.
National Forum on Education Statistics (ED), & Quality Information Partners, I. (QIP). (2016). Forum Guide to Data Visualization: A Resource for Education Agencies. NFES 2017-016. In National Forum on Education Statistics. National Forum on Education Statistics.