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
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