Steering Clear of "The New Stupid"
by Frederick M. Hess • Dec 23, 2011 at 9:15 am
Cross-posted from Education Week
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ShareNote: This week, I'm giving RHSU readers a look at my essay from Educational Leadership entitled "The New Stupid." For days one and two, see here and here.
If you see warning signs of the new stupid, what should you do? There are at least four keys to avoiding the new stupid.
First, educators should be wary of allowing data or research to substitute for good judgment. When presented with persuasive findings or promising new programs, it is still vital to ask the simple questions: What are the presumed benefits of adopting this program or reform? What are the costs? How confident are we that the promised results are replicable? What contextual factors might complicate projections? Data-driven decision making does not simply require good data; it also requires good decisions.
Second, schools must actively seek out the kind of data they need as well as the achievement data external
