Where is Data Driving Us?

Living in Dialogue

Where is Data Driving Us?

Many of our schools these days are guided by a business school practice known as Data-Driven Decision-Making (DDDM). This approach means that we do not base decisions on whim or convenience, but rather rely on actual student achievement outcomes to guide us. The first step in this process is determining which data we actually care about. That key decision has been made for us in the public schools by the mandates of NCLB. The data that matter most are student test scores in language arts and math. Data-Driven Decision-Making means we then must make choices that will increase those scores.

The term "Data-Driven Decision-Making" has a sort of value-neutral, rational sound to it. It means we are basing our choices on facts, that we are willing to make tough choices in the interest of student achievement. That should be good news, right?

But the choices that are made actually do carry value judgments, and I am not sure that we are considering all the relevant data when we make these decisions.