Making IB Data Work for You - A Conversation with Tom Kaster
|
A few weeks ago, I ran into my old friend and former colleague, Tom Kaster, whom I worked with at the International School Nido de Aguilas. We started catching up on life—what he’s been up to, what I’ve been up to—and he told me about an IB specific business he’s launched called The Datafied Classroom. It’s a custom-built tool designed specifically for IB schools, helping IB Coordinators, Extended Essay Coordinators, Theory of Knowledge teachers, and every IB teacher in the school better understand and manage the data that the IB provides when we submit our work. Tom has built this tool based on his 18 years of educational experience across India, Egypt, Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile, and the United States. Given the potential of The Datafied Classroom, I thought it would be helpful to share Tom’s insights on how it can enhance data management for IB schools worldwide I hope they provide useful insights. How does The Datafied Classroom help IB Educators and IB Coordinators turn complex exam data into actionable insights? Tom: The IBO provides all DP schools with exam results at the end of the May and November sessions. Three reports are included—the subject report, candidate report, and component report. Each report contains unique and overlapping information, and analyzing them manually is extremely time-consuming. I take these reports (up to the last five years) and synthesize them into interactive graphs and charts that show trends, averages, differences in predicted versus earned grades, and IA moderation levels. Essentially, I take a massive amount of data from multiple spreadsheets and put it into an easy-to-use and understandable format. A lot of DP coordinators analyze their results, but the process takes so much time and effort. One coordinator told me that I provided him with analysis faster than he could do it himself and that my tool highlighted analytics he didn’t even realize were available in the IB reports. What unique features, such as the Multi-Year Course Trends and Course Deep Dive, set your tools apart in supporting IB schools? Tom: There are a few key things that make The Datafied Classroom different. First, the interface is designed to be simple. Instead of looking at hundreds—or even thousands—of lines of raw IB data, teachers and coordinators see easy-to-read graphs and tables. Even those who aren’t comfortable with data can understand what’s being presented. Second, navigation is seamless. With just a few clicks, you can go from school-wide results to group results to individual subject results. That level of filtering makes it easy to focus on what matters most. The Multi-Year Trends feature is also a game changer. Schools can compare their results to world averages and see how consistent their performance is over time. That kind of data helps coordinators set realistic, strategic goals at the program, subject, and group levels. Can you share examples or success stories of how your platform has improved teaching strategies or program outcomes for IB schools? Tom: Definitely. One of the most common benefits schools mention is improving conversations between coordinators and teachers. Having a data tool like this removes the personal aspect of performance discussions. Instead of a coordinator saying, “Your students didn’t do well,” the data can show, “Across all students, Paper 2 scores were significantly lower than Paper 1.” That shifts the focus to exam components rather than making it feel like an evaluation of the teacher. Another huge win is vertical alignment. Some schools have used The Datafied Classroom to adjust their pre-DP curriculum, making sure students are developing the skills they need before they enter the Diploma Programme. Schools have also re-evaluated assessment strategies to better align with IB exams. One of my favorite stories came from a school that asked teachers to reflect on where they thought their students struggled the most. Then they looked at my analysis—and realized the area they thought was their biggest weakness was actually their strongest component. That data completely changed their approach. How does your background as an IB math teacher influence the design and functionality of your data analysis tools? Tom: I built this business because I know exactly how little time teachers and coordinators have for this kind of analysis. After nearly 20 years in the classroom, including 12 as an IB teacher, I understand how stretched educators are. My whole mission is to help teachers and coordinators without giving them extra work. That’s why The Datafied Classroom is built to be simple, effective, and easy to use. Beyond the IB data analysis tool, I also developed:
If schools want to build these systems themselves, I’m happy to mentor teachers or provide school-wide data literacy training. But the reality is that not everyone has the time or mental bandwidth to take that on. That’s where I come in—I take care of the work, so schools can focus on using the insights rather than spending hours finding them. What role does The Datafied Classroom play in helping IB schools make data-driven decisions to enhance student performance and program success? Tom: My role is to take all the raw IB data, simplify it, visualize it, and make it usable. Good data analysis isn’t just about looking at averages or percentages. Sure, those numbers can be important, but they don’t tell the full story. The real insights come from digging deeper, looking at trends, and seeing the connections between different data points. For example, a school might look at their overall scores and see no major issues, but when you break it down, you might notice that Paper 3 performance has dropped significantly over three years. Or that IA moderation levels have been inconsistent. These are actionable insights—they tell schools what they need to adjust or where to focus. That’s where I help. I make sure schools don’t just see the data, but that they understand the story the data is telling them. It was pretty cool to reconnect with Tom and see what he's been up to--and, of course, I hope that may have been helpful to you as well. Here’s a link to Tom’s website if you’re interested in taking a look: The Datafied Classroom. I hope you’re doing well out there. See you next week. Whenever you are ready, here are 4 ways I can help: IB Economics Online Courses - Join 25,000+ students and teachers who have purchased these online Economics courses: Introduction to Economics, Microeconomics, Market Power, Macroeconomics, and The Global Economy. IB Core Workshops - Join my colleague Kurt Supplee and me for four different IB Core Workshops designed for IB Coordinators, EE Coordinators, TOK Teachers, and Extended Essay Supervisors. Our upcoming workshops include The Cohort Model for the Extended Essay, Strategically Managing the IB Core, and our most popular workshop, Effectively Supervising Any Extended Essay. Custom IB Faculty Training - Reach out and let me know how we can help work together to build a more robust and well-structured IB Programme at your school. We’ve worked with teachers and coordinators from hundreds of schools around the world. IB Economics Teacher Workshops - Join me for both my live and on-demand teacher workshops which cover all aspects of the IB Economics curriculum including the Internal Assessment, Extended Essay, Understanding IB Assessments, and content-based courses on Teaching Macroeconomics, Market Power, and The Global Economy. |