Why Data is Important

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.