Turning data into daily practice: What Russell Smart taught us about making assessment human 

There’s a moment in every school year when the spreadsheets feel louder than the students. Benchmarks arrive, reports download and dashboards glow with colour. It’s useful, until it isn’t. What actually changes in tomorrow’s lesson?

In a recent Renaissance Incorporating GL Education webinar: Assessment excellence for international schools, Deputy Head Russell Smart at Dubai British School Jumeirah Park (DBSJP) , Taaleem, set a very different tone. Rather than celebrating the neatness of data, he invited us into the messier, more honest work of making data live. “Every number is a child,” he reminded us. “The data only matters when you can see it in the lesson tomorrow.” That line anchored the hour.

From silos to shared practice

Russell began with a story that will ring true for many Dubai schools. As the New Group Reading Test (NGRT) became a sharper focus locally, especially in Years 2–3 (typically ages 6–8, US Grades 1–2), his team noticed patterns that were hard to interpret in isolation.

Instead of turning inward, he went wide, seeding what is now the Dubai Assessment Network: an informal, trust-based space where 15-20 schools compare anonymised NGRT snapshots against KHDA reading profiles and talk openly about delivery, age-appropriate scaffolds, and what’s actually working. (To join the Dubai Assessment Network, get in touch with Russell Smart here)

What struck me wasn’t the mechanics of data-sharing; it was the shift in culture. “A decade ago,” Russell says, “schools tended to keep themselves to themselves. Now, there’s an appetite for collaboration, not to league-table one another, but to shorten the distance between a puzzling report and a practical response. In that sense, the network is less about graphs and more about professional confidence.” This model mirrors the US concept of PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) and UK subject networks

Seeing the story, not just the score

The middle of the session focused on NGRT and GL Education’s Reading Support Pathway. If you’ve not used it before, the pathway maps students by sentence completion and passage comprehension, then links directly to ten colour-coded learner profiles with guiding questions and next steps.

At DBSJP, the Reading Support Pathway now sits at the heart of pupil progress meetings (similar to Response To Intervention (RTI) or student support team meetings). Page one of the pack sets context (CAT4); page two brings NGRT into view; and somewhere in the conversation a simple, leaderly question surfaces: “What will we do differently next week?”

It’s here that Russell’s approach, quietly relentless, becomes clear. He isn’t chasing perfect accuracy; he’s chasing actionable clarity. Teachers aren’t asked to memorise every report field; they’re asked to craft a one-sentence summary that captures the class’s direction of travel and the few things that will actually move the needle.

Practice between the windows

One of the most practical pivots came when Russell reframed Accelerated Reader (AR). For years, AR had done the joyful, motivational work, quizzes, word-millionaire displays, visible momentum. But it wasn’t yet part of the reading-improvement story. That changed when the team paired Star Reading reports (at-risk and urgent-intervention flags, engaged reading time) with NGRT, which can be used up to three times a year.

Pupils sitting just under a Standard Age Score (SAS) threshold often needed more reading practice: reading within the upper Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) band, a personalised reading range broadening genres, building a habit that matched their potential. Families were brought into the loop with clearer, kinder language: “Here’s what we see in CAT4; here’s what NGRT says today; here’s how practice can bridge the gap.”

The impact wasn’t overnight transformation – few good things are. It was steadier: more pupils nudging over key thresholds, fewer surprises at the next NGRT window, and classroom talk that sounded less like ‘data compliance’ and more like ‘reading culture’.

Triangulation without overwhelm

There’s a risk when schools embrace triangulation that we inadvertently create a three-headed monster. Russell’s antidote is elegant: “Triangulate CAT4 (understanding students’ academic potential), NGRT (what they can access), AR/Star (how they practise), and, crucially, teacher judgement, then ruthlessly simplify.” This approach supports both formative and summative accountability frameworks

At DBSJP, action plans don’t read like shopping lists; they hold three or four priorities for the year, with timelines and routines that make sense to the teachers who will deliver them.

This is also where middle leadership comes alive. Year leaders and subject leads don’t just receive data; they curate it for their teams, help translate patterns into routines (starters, reading conferences, micro-interventions), and keep the focus on consistency over intensity. It’s less a new programme, more a new cadence. This aligns with effective instructional coaching and Multi-Tiered System of Support.

When learners own the next step

The most hopeful section of the webinar connected to Visible Learning. Assessment-capable learners, those who can name starting points, success criteria and immediate next steps progress faster. You don’t need the theory to feel the truth of it. In one lesson Russell observed, pupils worked to class success criteria plus one self-authored target for that lesson. It’s a small move with a big message: your progress is not happening to you; it’s happening with you.

Crucially, this isn’t about turning Year 2s into mini data analysts. It’s about age-appropriate language and an invitational tone: “Here’s what you’re already doing well; here’s what you can’t do yet; here’s how we’ll practise it together.” When that becomes routine, data stops being a label and starts being a lens. This supports student agency — a focus in both the UK Ofsted framework and US learner-centred instructional models.

What I’m taking into next week

If you only do one thing after reading this, try the one-liner. Sit with your class list and ask: In one sentence, where are we now, and what will we prioritise for the next four weeks? If it doesn’t fit on a Post-it, it probably won’t fit in a busy teacher’s day. This low-effort, high-impact approach is useful across both standards-based (US) and mastery-based (UK) frameworks

Then, put practice in the gaps. Between NGRT forms, let AR/Star do its quiet work: surface who needs a genre stretch; who’s reading below the upper ZPD band; who would benefit from a five-minute conference about sticking with a slightly tougher text. Small, visible, weekly changes beat heroic one-offs.

Finally, keep the culture warm. The Dubai Assessment Network exists because leaders were willing to swap the safety of silence for the usefulness of candour. Your version may be smaller, two schools and a shared spreadsheet, but the principle travels: we get better, faster, together.

Above all, hold on to Russell’s core idea: data is only as good as the lesson it changes. When we treat the numbers as the start of a conversation, not the end of it, progress becomes both more human and more likely.

About Russell Smart

Russell Smart is the Deputy Head Academic at Dubai British School Jumeirah Park, where he leads on curriculum design, assessment, and teaching and learning across the Primary phase. With extensive experience in UK and international education, Russell is passionate about evidence-informed practice and developing assessment strategies that truly impact student progress. He has led whole-school initiatives on Visible Learning, WalkThrus, and data-driven teaching, ensuring that teachers and leaders can make informed decisions in the classroom. Russell also plays an active role in regional networks, collaborating with schools across Dubai and beyond to raise standards and share best practice. His work is rooted in the belief that assessment should empower both teachers and learners, driving clarity, confidence, and continuous improvement.

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