In education today, data is everywhere—but turning data into meaningful, actionable insights is another story. Traditional data analysis often results in lengthy reports that sit on shelves, disconnected from the people they are meant to serve. That’s where Education Northwest’s Collaborative Analysis Process (CAP) comes in.

What Is the Collaborative Analysis Process?

CAP is a powerful, inclusive approach to data analysis that centers community voice and builds trust, commitment, and investment to drive strategic action. This interactive, facilitated method brings together educators, students, families, and community members to:

• Examine data collaboratively
• Understand root causes of challenges that surface in the data
• Identify and prioritize key findings
• Develop actionable next steps

Rather than relying solely on external experts, CAP empowers local partners to interpret data through the lens of their lived experiences. Our team of researchers and facilitators prepare the data and guide participants through the process, but the community drives the analysis and decision making. Using a structured funnel approach, we move communities from broad data sets to focused, strategic actions.

Why CAP Works: The Research Behind the Process

CAP is effective because it is grounded in research and best practices from the fields of education, organizational change, and community engagement. Its key tenets include:

• Building trust and shared ownership of data
• Centering community voice in decision making
• Aligning goals with lived experiences and local context
• Identifying actionable strategies that reflect real needs

Here’s why these core elements are essential for sustainable, equity-focused change.

Trust Is Foundational to Honest Dialogue

Research shows that trust is a prerequisite for meaningful engagement, especially when discussing sensitive topics like equity, race, and systemic barriers. Without trust, participants may withhold their true experiences or disengage entirely. Our team begins the CAP by intentionally building trust—through in-person visits, inclusive facilitation, and representation of diverse voices—to create a safe space for open, honest dialogue.

Community Voice Leads to Ownership and Relevance

Traditional top-down data analysis often fails to resonate with those it affects most. CAP flips this model by centering the lived experiences of students, families, educators, and community members. Creating and sharing knowledge from data is a social process that requires insight from those who know the local context best. When people see their voices reflected in the process and outcomes, they are more likely to feel ownership over the findings and committed to the resulting actions. This aligns with research on participatory decision making, which shows that inclusive processes lead to more relevant, accepted, and sustainable solutions.

Creating and sharing knowledge from data is a social process that requires insight from those who best know the local context.

Collaborative Analysis Builds Shared Understanding

CAP is not just about reviewing data—it’s about making meaning together. This approach is supported by systems thinking and improvement science, which emphasize the importance of understanding context and engaging those closest to the work in identifying problems and designing solutions. By bringing diverse stakeholders into the same room to analyze data, CAP fosters a shared understanding of challenges and opportunities. This collective meaning making helps uncover root causes that might be missed in isolated analysis and builds consensus around priorities.

Data Visualization Makes Information Accessible

CAP uses visual tools to make complex data understandable for all participants, regardless of their background in data analysis. This ensures that everyone can contribute meaningfully to the conversation, not just the participants with technical expertise.

The Funnel Approach Drives Strategic Action

Rather than overwhelming participants with raw data, CAP uses a structured funnel approach—starting broad and narrowing down to focused, actionable priorities. This method helps districts move from insight to implementation, ensuring that the process leads to real change, not just reflection.

CAP in Action: Astoria’s Community-Driven Equity Review

Like many districts, Astoria School District in Astoria, Oregon, found itself navigating a sea of new initiatives and accountability measures. When district leaders developed a new strategic plan, they knew equity had to be at its core—but they weren’t sure how to measure progress or where to begin.

They turned to Education Northwest for help. With funding from the Northwest Regional Educator Network, Astoria partnered with Education Northwest to conduct a districtwide equity review with the goal of uncovering opportunities for improvement and charting a clear, community-informed path forward.

From the beginning, Astoria’s equity review was designed to be by the community, for the community. Education Northwest worked with district leaders to form a diverse advisory group that included educators, students, staff members, and community members. This group co-constructed the review plan and provided feedback throughout the process.

To build trust and ensure authentic participation, Education Northwest team members visited Astoria, held office hours in schools, and assembled a project team that reflected the district’s diversity. Data collection included:

• Focus groups with students, educators (including LGBTQ+ educators and educators of color), and administrators
• Surveys for students, families, and staff members (available in Spanish)
• Administrative data on demographics, discipline, outcomes, and wages

The culmination of the equity review was a full-day CAP session. The Education Northwest team prepared data packets and assembled a group of 22 community members. This group included students, educators, families, and other community members who worked together to analyze the data, identify key themes, and prioritize areas for action.

We want to advance equity in our district based on data and research-based analysis … The areas of focus were determined by a team from our district so we will have ownership and our local voice is present.
—Astoria School District SEL coach

Astoria did not stop at identifying priorities. These priorities now serve as the foundation for Astoria’s equity work. The district invited Education Northwest to provide two additional years of technical assistance, including professional learning, communities of practice, coaching and capacity-building. Together, they’re turning community insights into concrete, sustainable change.

An Effective, Community-Driven Process for Sustainable Change

Astoria’s journey shows what’s possible when data is democratized and communities are empowered. CAP is an inclusive approach to data analysis that makes complex data more accessible, centers community and collective knowledge, and leads to clear and actionable steps for improvement. CAP transforms data from a static report into a living road map that reflects the voices, values, and visions of the people it is meant to serve.

Want to Learn More?

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Johnette Burdette is a director at Education Northwest with over 21 years of experience designing and developing products and services to support state, district, and school improvement efforts in leadership, diversity, equity, and inclusion. She specializes in continuous improvement, accountability metrics, progress monitoring, and leadership development.