Over the last two decades, schools are, nearly worldwide, increasingly expected to use various data sources to change and improve education. As a result, discussions about what data is and how and for what it can be used animate education debates in many countries. Sources such as student performance data, are at the core of school autonomy with accountability regimes that have developed to steer growingly fragmented, complex and multi-layered education systems (Verger & Skedsmo, 2021). Most of the research on the use of student performance data comes from the United States, which has a longer and stronger tradition of output-oriented school governing linked to high-stakes accountability. This research has also influenced how we talk about and understand the use of student outcomes in Europe and Norway (Prøitz et al., 2017). With more countries adapting policies and practices of data use, what we understood as data a decade ago, may be too reductionist if compared to what we consider as data today. In addition, digital technology has increased access and ability to combine data on different aspects of education. To understand conceptualisations of data (Coburn and Turner, 2011; Spillane, 2012) and how they are used by school actors in different times and places means enabling informed debates about data use in the education sector. In this paper, we present the results of a mapping review (cf. Grant & Booth, 2009) of international research on data use published during the period of 2000-2022.In the analysis, we concentrate on tracing development trends with respect to data sources and purposes of data use across country contexts. Methodologically, systematic literature searches for peer-reviewed publications were conducted in the Scopus and ERIC databases. After initial searches, a search string was developed and criteria for inclusion/exclusion were formulated. The identified publications were first screened based on title and abstract, then based on full-text versions. In cases of disagreement, the publications were critically examined to reach a joint decision, leading to a refined attainment of decisions and increasing the agreement rate. Preliminary results indicate a geographical spread of research in this area moving from Anglo-Saxon countries, to include continental, Nordic, and Mediterranean European countries, and other parts of the world. Moreover, the analysis shows an expanded understanding of what data is, who can produce it and how it should be viewed by school actors, a more holistic approach to quality indicators, and increased awareness of ethical issues.

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