The district leaders at Santa Ana Unified School District in California faced a challenge: Open a new charter school that would act as a model of personalized learning for the entire district, and achieve one and a half years’ worth of student growth in the first school year. In September 2015, the Advanced Learning Academy opened its doors—and what happened next is a testament to the hard work of the educators involved and proof that quality assessment data is an invaluable tool in helping kids grow.