I began to write this and had a paragraph about all of the qualifications I have to speak on this, but it doesn’t really matter. In the end, this is my belief and regardless of my qualification to speak on it, it drives my behavior, my conversations and my practices.
In education, I firmly believe we have created a data rich culture. We have data from the school report cards, from standardized testing, surveys, evaluations, interventions, assessments, behavior, and so many more. In all likelihood, for most students, we have nearly every metric we want to have on them. The problem you ask? We have no idea how and what to do with it! We stare at the mountain of data and then go on with same lesson, same assessment, same scope and sequence as we always have. We do the same thing and expect different results. I think there is some well known quote about doing that.
My general thesis is that we must become more information rich. We must do a better job of understanding what we want to do for our students. In nearly every evaluation conference I have with teachers, I ask “why is this lesson important and appropriate for this group of students, right now?”. Seemingly an easy answer, but I would measure to guess that for many teachers throughout the nation, that is a difficult question to answer beyond, “well the scope and sequence says we should” or “this is the next lesson in the curriculum”. Presented with a mountain of data, we still don’t understand why we teach our students what we teach them.
So what then? This seems like a lot of complaining and not so many solutions. So here area few steps that I think we can take.
- Identify a finite number of quantifiable variables to relentlessly track
- There is a mountain of data and you categorically cannot make pivots based upon all of it. Determine the BIG metrics you care about and track them relentlessly. But don’t make it a secret. Communicate it with staff. Provide them with the ownership of what to track, how to analyze it and how to make instructional, curricular and practical changes.
- Teach others how to analyze, not just collect data
- In my experience, educators (whether teachers or administrators) are far stronger at collecting data than they are at analyzing it. At times this is because of the sheer amount of time it takes to manually collect the data. Step back for a second and do the cost-benefit analysis. Which is a more valuable use of time? Collecting and inputting data or analyzing and reviewing data. You can’t teach them to analyze if they spend all of their time collecting and inputting it.
- In teaching others how to analyze the data, teach them how to ask questions. Data is only valuable when it stems questions. Growth happens in the moment of disequilibrium. Data should provide this environment and provide meaningful questions. These questions then stem the foundation for change.
- Demand adjustments
- Data should ultimately spur change. It should cause pivots in instruction, in the sequence, pacing and differentiation of instruction. When data is used but changes nothing, it is a wasteful practice. Demand adjustments. Provide support, create a plan, and provide accountability to make adjustments.
- Don’t ever lose sight of the student
- In the end, all of this is about students. Our job is students. Data provides us with greater insight as to how to support and develop them into the young boys and girls, young men and women and people we know they can be. Data should provide us with the lever to constantly see greater in them than they see in themselves. Data should provide us with the lever to help them shatter the ceiling of potential. Data isn’t just numbers. Data can and should be our tool to allow us to do our best so they can be their best.
This July, I will be speaking at the NAESP National Conference in Spokane, WA on this topic. If you’re out there, I hope you can come join me as we dive deeper into the practical next steps.
Joe Mullikin 