Investing in Data Systems: Like a Good Workout
by Frederick M. Hess • Jun 4, 2010 at 9:20 am
Cross-posted from Education Week
Cross-posted from Education Week
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As states and districts wrestle with strapped budgets, and as advocates push Congress to include this or that pet cause in the reauthorization of NCLB (nee ESEA), it's worth taking a moment to point out the development of new data systems that are increasingly putting districts in a position to track student progress, identify effective and ineffective practices and educators, and give leaders cover to take a firmer line when addressing poor performers. Like a trip to the gym, these steps can feel like drudgery and they don't deliver much immediate gratification--but they can make a big difference in the long term.
While often relegated to the care of statisticians and policy-wonks, school data systems hold the potential to help district leaders enact dramatic changes in school management (see "The Numbers We Need," a piece I