|
Sitemap
| Jobs
|
Contact Us
|
Building Smart Education Systems |
Voices in Urban Education
Archives
Using Data for Decisions
VUE Number 18, Winter 2008
| VUE Home | Archives | Order Print Copy |
Data-Informed Decision Making:
Using Data Wisely and Well
By Robert Rothman
Robert Rothman is a Principal Associate & Editor of VUE at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform.
> Author's bio
Using data in educational decision making has become one of the hottest topics in the field. A Google search of the phrase data decision making returned 11,900,000 hits. Unfortunately, most of the discussion around the issue focuses on the data side; decision making is still a challenge.
There is no question that schools, districts, and communities have access to a wealth of data on student and school performance. Whatever else it's done, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) — with its requirements for tests in grades three through eight and once in high school and for results broken down by race, gender, socio-economic status, and other factors — has produced a vast amount of information on student achievement. More than ever before, schools are reporting test scores to the public and providing detailed reports on school performance.
As educators and community members know well, however, this data is not as useful as it might be. For one thing, it is limited to student academic achievement in two subject areas, reading and mathematics. There are many other outcomes of interest, and looking only at NCLB test scores is far too narrow a lens on educational success and development.
Test scores also come back too late to inform decision making about many programs and instruction. The scores indicate whether students have mastered the material or not — if not, the results can't help them. And in many cases, by the time the results come back, students are in another grade.
But even if test scores reflected broader outcomes and results were reported more quickly, they still would be in the form of raw data. What you do with the data makes the difference. How can districts and communities sift through data, analyze the data, and make sure those who make decisions are able to make use of the data? How can decision making really be data driven?
This issue of Voices in Urban Education looks at districts and communities that have shown success in using data effectively. It is based, in part, on a study conducted by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform to examine district data use. The study is aimed at identifying “leading indicators” — measures that indicate whether students and schools are on a path toward producing results down the road. The districts and community organizations included here use a variety of measures in various ways.
Richard J. Murnane, Elizabeth A. City, and Kristan Singleton describe how the Boston Public Schools developed a set of tools and supports to enable schools to use state test scores effectively in planning instruction.
> Excerpt
Debra Vaughan and Kirk Kelly recount how a district and its partner, a local education fund, created a culture where using data for decision making is now the norm.
> Excerpt
David Chiszar shows how a district created a data reporting system to meet the needs of a broad range of constituents.
> Excerpt
Seema Shah shows how community organizations use data — often provided by districts themselves — to press for changes in district policies and practices.
> Full text
Jacob Mishook, Ellen Foley, Joanne Thompson, and Michael Kubiak suggest what it might take to create a system of leading indicators.
> Full text
The districts and organizations represented here are exceptional in many ways; not all districts are so forthcoming in the data they report, particularly when the news isn't all good. But as these articles make clear, building an effective data system takes a lot more than reporting data. For one thing, they show that the choice of measures is extremely important — the measures have to matter to the people who use them. They also show that the right measures can be extremely powerful. As Shah makes clear, data can reveal shortcomings and inequities and lead to real improvements.
The articles also show the importance of effective partnerships. As Vaughan and Kelly show, a community organization can enhance the capacity of a district with limited resources. But the partnerships must be true ones; as Chiszar notes, a private vendor's inflexibility threatened to limit what the district could do in building a data system.
None of these districts or community organizations has all the answers. The quest for better information on what matters continues. But students in these communities are better off because educators and community leaders are able to make smarter, more timely decisions based on real data.
Archives
Using Data for Decisions
VUE Number 18, Winter 2008
| VUE Home | Archives | Order Print Copy |
Data-Informed Decision Making:Using Data Wisely and Well
By Robert Rothman
Robert Rothman is a Principal Associate & Editor of VUE at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform.
> Author's bio
Using data in educational decision making has become one of the hottest topics in the field. A Google search of the phrase data decision making returned 11,900,000 hits. Unfortunately, most of the discussion around the issue focuses on the data side; decision making is still a challenge.
There is no question that schools, districts, and communities have access to a wealth of data on student and school performance. Whatever else it's done, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) — with its requirements for tests in grades three through eight and once in high school and for results broken down by race, gender, socio-economic status, and other factors — has produced a vast amount of information on student achievement. More than ever before, schools are reporting test scores to the public and providing detailed reports on school performance.
As educators and community members know well, however, this data is not as useful as it might be. For one thing, it is limited to student academic achievement in two subject areas, reading and mathematics. There are many other outcomes of interest, and looking only at NCLB test scores is far too narrow a lens on educational success and development.
Test scores also come back too late to inform decision making about many programs and instruction. The scores indicate whether students have mastered the material or not — if not, the results can't help them. And in many cases, by the time the results come back, students are in another grade.
But even if test scores reflected broader outcomes and results were reported more quickly, they still would be in the form of raw data. What you do with the data makes the difference. How can districts and communities sift through data, analyze the data, and make sure those who make decisions are able to make use of the data? How can decision making really be data driven?
This issue of Voices in Urban Education looks at districts and communities that have shown success in using data effectively. It is based, in part, on a study conducted by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform to examine district data use. The study is aimed at identifying “leading indicators” — measures that indicate whether students and schools are on a path toward producing results down the road. The districts and community organizations included here use a variety of measures in various ways.
Richard J. Murnane, Elizabeth A. City, and Kristan Singleton describe how the Boston Public Schools developed a set of tools and supports to enable schools to use state test scores effectively in planning instruction.
> Excerpt
Debra Vaughan and Kirk Kelly recount how a district and its partner, a local education fund, created a culture where using data for decision making is now the norm.
> Excerpt
David Chiszar shows how a district created a data reporting system to meet the needs of a broad range of constituents.
> Excerpt
Seema Shah shows how community organizations use data — often provided by districts themselves — to press for changes in district policies and practices.
> Full text
Jacob Mishook, Ellen Foley, Joanne Thompson, and Michael Kubiak suggest what it might take to create a system of leading indicators.
> Full text
The districts and organizations represented here are exceptional in many ways; not all districts are so forthcoming in the data they report, particularly when the news isn't all good. But as these articles make clear, building an effective data system takes a lot more than reporting data. For one thing, they show that the choice of measures is extremely important — the measures have to matter to the people who use them. They also show that the right measures can be extremely powerful. As Shah makes clear, data can reveal shortcomings and inequities and lead to real improvements.
The articles also show the importance of effective partnerships. As Vaughan and Kelly show, a community organization can enhance the capacity of a district with limited resources. But the partnerships must be true ones; as Chiszar notes, a private vendor's inflexibility threatened to limit what the district could do in building a data system.
None of these districts or community organizations has all the answers. The quest for better information on what matters continues. But students in these communities are better off because educators and community leaders are able to make smarter, more timely decisions based on real data.
|
Annenberg Institute for School Reform Brown University, Box 1985 Providence, RI 02912 |
Telephone: 401.863.7790 Fax: 401.863.1290 |
AISR_info@brown.edu
|
© all material AISR