• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts

The Educators Room logo

  • Start Here
    • Impact Statements: Teacher Expertise
    • Newsletter
  • Browse Topics
    • Content Strategies
      • Literacy
      • Mathematics
      • Social Studies
      • Educational Technology
      • ELL & ESOL
      • Fine Arts
      • Special Education
      • Popular Topics
        • Teacher Self-Care
        • Instructional Coach Files
        • Common Core
        • The Traveling Teacher
        • The Unemployed Teacher
        • The New Teacher Chronicles
        • Book Review
        • Grade Levels
          • Elementary (K-5)
          • Middle (6-8)
          • Adult
          • New Teacher Bootcamp
          • Hot Button Topics
            • Menu Item
              • Principals' Corner
              • Charter Schools
              • Confessions of a Teacher
              • Interviews
              • The State of Education
              • Stellar Educator of the Week
            • Menu
              • How to Fix Education
              • Featured
              • Ask a Teacher
              • Teacher Branding
              • Current Events
  • Podcasts
  • Courses
    • Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout- An 8 Week Course
    • Becoming An Educational Consultant
    • Teacher Branding 101:Teachers are The Experts
    • The Learning Academy
    • Books
    • Shirts
  • Education in Atlanta
  • Teacher Self-Care
  • The Coach's Academy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Advertising
  • Write for Us
  • Job Board
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Consulting
    • Advertising
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Shirts
×

October 26, 2015 Common Core

Why Data is Important

  • About the Author
  • Latest Posts

About Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, at http://jenniferwolfe.net, and grab a free copy of "8 Tips For A Successful School Year" while you're there.
  • Teacher Self-Care: Great Tips PLUS A Hyperdoc To Share! - January 14, 2018
  • 3 Steps to Helping Students Develop College-Ready Writing Skills - November 26, 2017
  • A How To List For Flexible Classroom Seating - September 10, 2017
  • Back To School Hacks: Digitize Your Syllabus and Lesson Plans! - August 20, 2017
  • Want to Be Ready for Middle School? Start With These 4 Skills - August 14, 2017
  • Making STEM Matter in Schools - July 17, 2017
  • The STEM Revolution in Higher Education - June 26, 2017
  • The State of STEM in U.S. Schools - May 30, 2017
  • Teaching Writing With Hyperdocs - May 22, 2017
  • Budget Cuts? Don't Take It Out On The Teachers - Or The Students - March 20, 2017

There were eight of us gathered together early Wednesday morning: 8th grade teachers of History, English, PE, Math, Science, Spanish, a para educator and a counselor. Our task? Analyzing data from last year’s SBAC scores.

To three in the group, this was an impossible task. Immediately the environment became toxic. “Maybe you like data, Jennifer, but I could give a rat’s a** about it” spouted one, and the others quickly nodded in agreement.

How little they know me. And how little they understand data. And how common their comments have become.

To me, data isn’t something I ‘like’ or ‘dislike’. I view data as one piece of the puzzle for identifying how I can become a better teacher; if used correctly, data can inform how systems are failing our students.

So I got up and left the room - they can keep their scared little selves in denial. I had work to do.

Let me preface by saying I’m not a believer in standardized testing as a measure of all things. I detested No Child Left Behind, and am feeling the effects of its mind-numbing pedagogy in my students and in our society. I do prefer Common Core, and think that it better aligns to my inquiry-based teaching style. But to put all decisions to rest in the results of a test? No way.

I do agree with Arne Duncan when he said in The New York Times article, “Obama Administration Calls For Limits On Testing In Schools”, “I still have no question that we need to check at least once a year to make sure our kids are on track or identify areas where they need support,” said Arne Duncan, the secretary of education, who has announced that he will leave office in December. “But I can’t tell you how many conversations I’m in with educators who are understandably stressed and concerned about an overemphasis on testing in some places and how much time testing and test prep are taking from instruction.” But to spend 2.3% of my 8th grade teaching time on testing? No thank you. According to the same article,  “There was no evidence, the study found, that more time spent on tests improved academic performance, at least as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress,” That tells me that we need to be selective, deliberate, and conscious about what we’re testing for and how we’re going to use the data.

So the question becomes, why is data important?

1 - Data provides a curiosity bump. When I sat down in my classroom and pulled up the ELA results for my current students, I set to work on looking for patterns. Who was scoring in the ‘4’ category? Were all my honors students there? Where do my AVID students generally fall? I’m less interested in HOW they did - I want to see clusters, indicators, and look at where groups of kids performed well as well as poorly.

2 - Data makes us look at trends. There is a clear correlation with scores of 3 and 4 and race and socioeconomic status. Why were certain groups underperforming in our district? What services are they receiving? What correlation do these results have with their grades? Are they reading at grade level? What are we doing to reach these children before they hit high school?

3 - Data illuminates the bottom line. Many people in my district might be satisfied that we had a huge percentile of students scoring in the 3 or 4 range - over 70%, to be exact. For me, the results lit up the students who were scoring at the 1 and 2 range. If we rule out SPED and EL students, who were the rest? While I agree it’s wonderful to see success at the top end, I’m actually more concerned that the lower end’s small number makes it easier to dismiss. Small numbers don’t generate money or programs. I believe that we should be zeroing in on what we’re NOT doing to create academic success for these students.

4 - Data requires us to reflect. It’s much easier to dismiss performance when its not staring us in the face. It’s easier to make excuses, to blame a student’s inability to be proficient on their poor work ethic, or lack of parental involvement. To me, that’s a cop out. Data should allow us to look at the big picture of our educational systems - not as the only determiner of success or failure, but as one piece of the puzzle of our 21st century education system.

No, I can’t say I love, or even like, data. But I do love teaching, and I do want to continue to think and reflect and create a better school system for our kids. And if data is one piece to help me do that, I’ll dig in.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Related posts:

What Teachers Are Really Searching For Online The STEM Revolution in Higher Education "TestingTalk" Website Where Teachers Can "Be Brave" Four Reasons Why I'm In Love With Chromebooks In The Classroom
« Creating Appropriate Early Childhood Classrooms For Little To No Cost
The Difference between Character Education and Indoctrination »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

The Educator's Room was launched in 2012 to amplify the voice of educators. To date, we have over 45+ writers from around the world and boast over twelve million page views. Through articles, events, and social media we will advocate for honest dialogue with teachers about how to improve public education. This mission is especially important when reporting on education in our community; therefore, we commit our readers to integrity, accuracy, and independence in education reporting. To join our mailing list, click here.

What we do

At The Educator's Room, we focus on amplifying and honoring the voice of educators as experts in education. To date, we have over 40 staff writers/teachers from around the world.

Popular Posts

  • My Union Showed Up for Me, and I'll Never Forget It
  • Your Students Deserve a Diverse Classroom Library. Here's How to Set It Up.
  • You Don't Have to Watch the Tyre Nichols Video, But Be Ready to Talk About It
  • "Let's Make This Happen": Following Student Interests to Interest-Based Mentorships

Featured On

Buy Our Books/Courses

How to Leave Your Job in Education

Practicing Self-Care to Avoid Teacher Burnout

Using Your Teacher Expertise to Become an Educational Consultant

Check out our books on teaching and learning!

The Learning Academy

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Accessibility Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Services
  • Media Kit
  • FAQ

 

Copyright © 2021 The Educator's Room.