Ellen B. Mandinach

A Perfect Time for Data Use: Using Data-Driven Decision Making to Inform Practice

Data-driven decision making has become an essential component of educational practice across all levels, from chief state school officers to classroom teachers, and has received unprecedented attention in terms of policy and financial support. It was included as one of the four pillars in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009), indicating that federal education officials seek to ensure that data and evidence are used to inform policy and practice. This article describes the emergence of data-driven decision making as a topic of interest, some of the challenges to and opportunities for data use, and how the principles of educational psychology can and must be used to inform how educators are using data and the examination of its impact on educational practice.

A Systemic View of Implementing Data Literacy in Educator Preparation

Data-driven decision making has become increasingly important in education. Policymakers require educators to use data to inform practice. Although the policy emphasis is growing, what has not increased is attention to building human capacity around data use. Educators need to gain data literacy skills to inform practice. Although some professional development opportunities exist for current educators, fewer formal courses and opportunities for data literacy development in schools of education have been developed and implemented. This article explores issues around the growing need for data-driven decision making in programs in schools of education. The issues are complex and the actors needed to bring about change are multiple. A systems perspective to explore course and programmatic implementation is presented.

Ethical and appropriate data use requires data literacy

Data use should be a continuous, integrated part of practice, a tool that is used all the time. Good teachers have been doing data-driven decision making all along, it just has not been recognized by that term. But there is more work to be done to ensure that educators know how to continuously, effectively, and ethically use data; that is, to help them to be data literate. Several federal laws protect student data -- most notably FERPA; teachers and other school officials should have a working knowledge of them.

Every teacher should succeed with data literacy

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015) moves education further along the path toward becoming the evidence-based and data-driven profession that policy makers have continually called for. They have stressed the need for hard evidence to undergird educational decisions rather than relying on anecdotes and intuitions. This means teachers must continue to use data from many diverse sources to inform their classroom and instructional practice. It also requires that more teachers become data literate.

Professional and Personal Integrity

As a teacher educator you are (or were) identified as a credible practitioner in your given community of practice. As an early career teacher educator, there is an assumption that the transition from your successful previous position, in a related community of practice, to that of an academic teacher educator will occur through a process of osmosis or instinctive learning in situ. Handbook for Teacher Educators contains chapters written by experienced international teacher educators who draw on their experience and expertise to help early career teacher educators prepare for some of the demands, challenges and rewards. The chapters discuss some of the habits intrinsic to the profession and provide an insight into procedures and practices that are compatible with core professional expectations and professional values. In essence, if you are an early career teacher educator, what is useful to know in order to develop an identity as a knowledgeable skilled teacher educator?