Data in Schools Melbourne 2026

Almost a decade of sitting with school leaders across HSC, VCE, QCE, and the IB has taught us one thing above all: the most powerful analytical tool in a school is a well-formed question. AAS's PSAM (Post Secondary Academic Measure) was shaped not by data scientists alone, but by principals and heads of department who became more curious the more they understood — and whose questions, in turn, made the platform smarter.
 
In this 15-minute session we offer a window into that decade-long dialogue: how human conversation and rigorous statistical modelling grew together, and what it means now that AI has entered the room. The central tension is this — AI-assisted analytics can scale insight, but they also scale misinterpretation. A system that generates confident, declarative statements without the contextual knowledge behind the figures is a system that can mislead as easily as it illuminates. We'll share how PSAM is integrating AI-assisted insights in a way that preserves — rather than replaces — the human judgement that has always been at its core.
 
If you want to explore the full methodology, the data models, and the consultation approach in depth, join our 60-minute session this afternoon

Dr. Linda McIver, the pioneer of authentic Data Science and Computational Science education with real impact for secondary students, joins us for a dynamic keynote and workshop. Drawing from her work as the founder of the Australian Data Science Education Institute and author of Raising Heretics: Teaching Kids to Change the World, Linda is an inspiring speaker who regularly delivers engaging professional development for educators across all disciplines. A passionate advocate for STEM, equity, and inclusion, her session will focus on her mission: empowering Australian students with Data Science skills in the context of projects that enable them to solve problems and make a positive difference to the world.

This 60-minute session will explore the transformative impact of measuring general capabilities on school practice. Angela Pollock, Director of New Metrics and Director of Research Practice Partnerships at the University of Melbourne, will begin with a short presentation demonstrating how these new measures are changing schools. Angela brings 17 years of experience as a secondary school teacher and Assistant Principal and holds a Master of School Leadership. She is passionate about the powerful collaboration between schools and research institutions.

Following her opening, the session will transition into a panel discussion where educators and leaders from Victorian based schools (Alli Lehmann, Angeline Yannopoulos, Travis McKenzie, and Kathryn Pearson) will share their direct experiences with these changes. 

Note: there will be a 15 min break in between the 2 workshop rounds. 

How leading schools are connecting academic, operational and financial data to drive better decisions

• Academic data collection and analysis using assessment structures and markbook functionality.
• Capturing and managing wellbeing and behavioural information through pastoral care records and data sets.
• Customising workflows and data points to align with each school’s unique requirements and priorities.
• The importance of consistency in data collection to support informed decisions.

In this session, we will discuss some ethical considerations when it comes to using and operationalising student data in schools. We will look at the role of data in creating cultures of surveillance, increased teacher workload, unequal opportunities for students through biased or incomplete data, and the lack of informed consent for both parents and students. Rather than being prescriptive, the aim of the session is to share thoughts and opinions and find potential solutions for some of the potentially less desirable side effects of data use in schools. 

We have a lot of faith in measurements, and in data in general. This workshop will unsettle our faith and show how we can use the flaws in measurement to teach critical thinking with data science.

This session presents findings from a comparative Year 7-10 Mathematics formative assessment conducted across 18 Victorian secondary schools. Involving a sample of over 10,000 students, Rex and Kathy will examine how cross-school, question-level analysis surfaced misconceptions, within-school variation, and guided instructional priorities for the participating schools. They will share what the data reveals about student learning and how maths teams acted within the same term instructionally.

For almost a decade, AAS's PSAM (Post Secondary Academic Measure) has scaled and analysed student performance data across Australia's three senior secondary systems — HSC, VCE, and QCE — and the International Baccalaureate. What began as statistical modelling delivered through a web platform evolved into something richer through an unexpected circularity: as we consulted with school leaders, they became more data-literate, and in turn told us what knowledge they actually needed. Their questions shaped the product. The product deepened their questions. Schools and consultants grew together.
 
This human dialogue — sitting with principals, boards, and heads of department to interpret complex scaled data — remains the most powerful thing we do. Leaders leave with what we call a "backpack of knowledge" for the year ahead: grounded insights they can act on to improve teaching, course counselling, and student outcomes. We must always remember that learning precedes data — students should pursue what holds purpose and value for them. The numbers point in a direction, but they are not the destination.
 
As we develop our platform and consultations with AI assisted insights we also continue to recognise that the invention of AI-driven analytics is the invention of the AI-driven misinterpretation; users who may lack the statistical grounding to recognise when the machine has produced nonsense with confidence or makes declarative statements with little knowledge of the story behind the figures. We scale, we model, we measure. But PSAM has always been about the balance; where rigorous data finds meaning through human dialogue, empathy, and the stories behind the figures. That balance has never been accidental. It is the product of almost a decade of sitting with schools and learning, together, what the data actually means in the life of a student.
 
This presentation argues that the answer lies in origin. Every analytical skill in our system was born from a real school asking a real question — often naive, not statistically grounded — that we interpreted through statistical and educational expertise. The tool carries the DNA of the conversation. The intersectionality of data and human experience — empathy, contextual knowledge, the stories behind the numbers — is what makes this dialogue so powerful in schools' pursuit of continuous improvement. 

Enjoy light bites and refreshments prepared by our hosts at Melbourne Connect.

This session traces the data journey undertaken at Melbourne High School: from initial scoping and understanding the school’s decision-making needs, through data extraction and preparation, to early dashboarding, predictive modelling, and the development of more targeted approaches to student support and curriculum planning.
Rather than presenting analytics as a finished product or a simple technical solution, the session focuses on the practical work required to make school data useful: identifying the right questions, understanding the structure and limitations of available data, improving data quality, building trust in the outputs, and translating findings into conversations that educators can act on.
Drawing on recent work at Melbourne High School, Dr Steve Mason will discuss how the school moved from retrospective reporting toward earlier and more strategic use of data. This included developing dashboards to better understand patterns in achievement and engagement, then extending that work into predictive modelling to identify where student outcomes may be improved through timely intervention.
The session will also reflect on Melbourne High School’s broader improvement context, including its achievement as the top school in the country for median ATAR. This result was not the product of analytics alone. It was the outcome of strong teaching, high expectations, student effort, curriculum leadership, and sustained school-wide practice. The role of data was to support that work by helping staff see patterns earlier, ask sharper questions, and make more informed decisions.
Attendees will see how predictive modelling, explainable drivers, data-quality checks, and scenario testing can be used as part of a broader school improvement cycle. The focus is not on replacing professional judgement, but on strengthening it: using data to support curriculum planning, student support, intervention design, and more timely conversations about learning growth.

Most schools have data. What they often lack is clarity - about tiers, about next steps, and about how assessment connects to teaching. The Better and Fairer Schools Agreement positions MTSS as a key mechanism for advancing equity and excellence, and AERO supports it as a curriculum-aligned response to learner variability. This workshop translates that framework into everyday practice. Using the Essential Assessment MTSS view as a worked example, participants will explore a six-step problem-solving cycle that makes every learner visible, supported and extended - and leaves educators with a workflow they can apply tomorrow.

This presentation explores how bringing together HSC, semester, wellbeing and NAPLAN data can help schools build a richer picture of student readiness for future study. Using the context of Year 10 subject selection, the session will highlight the problem that faces many students and parents regarding this decision and show how multiple data sources can inform better conversations with students and families, moving beyond isolated results to a more complete story of student potential and support needs.

This session explores how an Instructional Maturity Model can help schools move toward a more sustainable approach. By developing AI-resilient units, offering practical options for using AI to support student learning, providing tools and scaffolds for assessment design, and building capability to collect and interpret evidence of student process and progress, schools can create a more robust and future-ready learning environment.

As Data Leaders in schools, we all have that one fancy spreadsheet we've been dying to show off to someone who gets it - this session will give you that chance!

In this session we'll explore how Data Leaders can empower teachers to take meaningful ownership of their classroom data, particularly in contexts where data confidence and engagement vary widely. Using a practical case study, the session will demonstrate how bespoke Google Sheets templates were developed to shift staff away from static 'chronicle-style' data use, towards identifying trends and actionable insights to inform teaching. This can be used to complement and leverage the implementation of a school-wide data analytics platform, helping to build a more coherent and positive culture around data use.

This hands-on session will address common challenges faced by schools, including data hygiene, consistency of practice, staff buy-in, and data literacy. It will offer practical strategies to support data-averse teachers, with a focus on building confidence, reducing barriers, and fostering sustainable, teacher-led engagement with data. Emerging technologies, including the use of AI to streamline and refine tool design, will be explored.

Most importantly, it will be a chance for Data Leaders to showcase their own tools, exchange ideas, and explore how we can get them in the hands of teachers to make a meaningful difference.

Please bring along your device and your favourite spreadsheet!

Schools are rich with data, yet many leaders continue to grapple with a critical question: How do we identify the conditions that are truly shaping outcomes for students, staff and school communities?
 
This workshop explores key findings from the Education Economy Capture Survey, a comprehensive school improvement and organisational diagnostic tool designed to capture the voices, experiences, perceptions and insights of staff, who we believe are responsible for creating the conditions for quality teaching and engaged learning.
 
Drawing on data collected from schools across Australia, the session will examine the conditions that influence learning, wellbeing, engagement, culture, leadership effectiveness and workforce sustainability.
 
Grounded in the work of Ben Sacco and informed by contemporary research in education, behavioural science and organisational improvement, the workshop demonstrates how schools can move beyond assumptions and anecdotal evidence to develop a clearer understanding of the factors influencing outcomes across their school.
 
Participants will explore a practical framework centred on process, systems, effort and consistency and how these elements contribute to sustainable improvement. The session will highlight how schools can use staff voice and evidence-informed insights to identify predictable challenges, strengthen organisational systems and shift from reactive responses to preventative action.
 
This workshop is ideal for school leaders seeking to strengthen their use of data to inform their implementation practices across their school.

Most schools invest in data platforms expecting culture change to follow. It doesn't. Tools without cultural groundwork become expensive bookmarks. This workshop unpacks what actually shifts a school from scattered, low confidence data use toward genuine data informed practice, and it isn't technology.
Drawing on 18 months of strategic implementation across a large multi campus Melbourne independent school, this session introduces a three pillar framework; Data Access, Data Systems, and Data Capabilities, that addresses the interconnected conditions required for sustainable data culture. Participants will hear what worked, what didn’t, and what was learned along the way. The session goes deep on practical, replicable strategies including data norms for conversations, diagnostic approaches to staff data literacy, and the critical lesson that access without capability and systems without culture produce very little.
Participants leave with concrete artifacts, a self assessment tool, and clear next steps for their context.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Articulate how three strategic pillars — Data Access, Data Systems, and Data Capabilities — interact to build sustainable data informed culture, and why addressing only one or two is insufficient.
2. Identify why technology first approaches to data culture frequently fail, and what cultural groundwork is needed before and alongside tool deployment.
3. Apply a practical approach to establishing data norms for staff conversations about data, including strategies for building confidence through role play and structured practice.
4. Assess their own school's current position across the three pillars and identify the highest priority next step for their context.

Interactive Elements:
The workshop includes two structured participant activities. First, a self assessment exercise where participants map their school's current state across the three pillars, identifying strengths and gaps. This is done individually then discussed in table groups to surface common patterns and context specific challenges. Second, participants engage with sample data norms and discuss how they would adapt and introduce them in their own settings, drawing on the role play launch model presented in the session. Both activities are supported by printed handout materials participants take away.
Technology/Resource Requirements:
Projector and screen for presentation. No internet access required for participants. Presenter will provide printed handout packs including the three pillar framework summary, sample data norms, self assessment tool, and further reading list. Seating in table groups preferred to support discussion activities.

Our culminating event for 'Data in Schools - Melbourne' where we will bring together key themes and ideas before closing out (...and heading to the Social!)

Join us at the Carlton Yacht Club for a complimentary drink on us, and to solidify new friends and connections made at Data in Schools. We keep the conference small for this reason!

Location:
298 Lygon St, Carlton VIC 3053