We all know about side effects of the testing culture: kids pressured by tests, kids spending too much time on tests, teachers feeling like it takes away instruction, etc. I don’t need to describe these to you. We don’t often…
Data-Informed Practice: It’s Not Just About Test Scores (Part 5: I’m Talking to You, Policymakers)
I’ve spent this blog series talking about possible solutions to the problem of test-focused data use: common understandings, computer data systems, and data-related professional learning. I like these ideas and if they were implemented, I think a lot would change.…
Data-Informed Practice: It’s Not Just About Test Scores (Part 3: Computer Data Systems)
As I mentioned in Part 1 of this blog series, data use is often disjoint and removed from practice. I believe that’s often because of a focus on test scores. In this series, I’m examining supports that can help recast…
Data-Informed Practice: It’s Not Just About Test Scores (Part 2: Common Understandings)
I lied. I said I would write a two-part blog on this topic. Today was intended to be the second part, about what we do to broaden “data use” beyond just test scores. But as I began to write this…
Data-Informed Practice: It’s Not Just About Test Scores (Part 1)
American schools and school systems have established a pretty consistent pattern in how data are used. Data are used in defined events – “event-based data use.” By that, I mean that education continues largely as it traditionally has, but educators…