One of the things that I am really trying to learn more about is the use of data in schools. Although we have taken an entire course that focused on it, I still am a bit unsure and skeptical about some of its uses. Even with that, considering the increasing importance of data in education, I need to jump on the bandwagon soon.
My current struggle with data is the lack of training that educators get. New evaluation systems and No Child Left Behind evaluate districts and will likely evaluate teachers on data that most people do not understand and cannot put into context. Looking at the WINSS site was a good exercise as it is an excellent tool that provides great information but my first thought is,"how can an average person understand or measure the significance of this?". Jargon such as AYP, advanced and proficient, or composite score have meaning to educators but likely do not mean much to the general public.
The message that I am sending is that more training is needed and needed soon for teachers. If districts and states are creating systems to evaluate teachers based on all of this data and then using it to determine salary or even hiring/firing it is imperative that teachers understand it. And even then there are questions about the quality of data used and likely the need to acquire more data. More data will likely cost more money which means cuts from other important places. Although I understand the purpose of goals and measuring success, it just seems that education is coming to a place where jargon and statistics will mean more than quality instruction and supporting educators.
I really struggle with the Jargon as well. I think it is great when you can short cut things, but when you are learning....spell it out and more than in just the first paragraph of the first chapter! I think with the practice we get in this class though we may be off on the right foot. GLFN (Good luck for now)---Taken from a 2nd grade student!
ReplyDelete