Driven by data?

Phrases like “data-driven instruction” and “data-driven decision making” make me wonder exactly who is driving, the data or the people? If we don’t stop to ask, “Where are we going?” “For what purpose?” and “What evidence do these data provide?” we risk putting data in the driver’s seat and going along for a ride we know not where. We zig and we zag in whichever direction the latest data set suggests we might have a weakness.

 Educators are too often confronted by volumes of data that provide so little guidance about action that the data become meaningless.

Another problem can be too much data. What I see happening in some systems — from state ed departments out to district, school, and classroom levels — is educators and policy makers becoming seduced, then overwhelmed by data. To be more exact, they are collecting and/or distributing so much data that recipients can’t process it all or figure out which data will give them the evidence they need to determine if they’re making progress toward their goals. Too much data can become static in the system — like a fuzzy radio signal, the data become a distraction that draws attention away from the program.