The Use of Data: Tool or Weapon?

Teachers are always being reminded of the importance of the use of data to drive instruction. Data is such a centerpiece in school programs across the United States that essentially it drives everything from funding to work relationships. Fundamentally, this is simple logic. On one hand, you have administrators that often operate in much the same way "managers" do in any given industry. They are at the mercy of data and the the efficiency (or inefficiency) of the program/system they manage. For example, if the data indicates statistical growth in terms of test scores, then this reflects positively on those "managers" and this translates into merits and potential for an ascension in their personal careers. At the very least, positive data serves as approval of the system in place, and in some cases vindication for changes made to a system. So naturally, the "managers" want to see growth, but it can be debated whether they are motivated by the need to improve students' overall skills or their own personal gains.

The sentiment among many teachers is clearly the administrators work under the pressures of higher offices of a program or school system, and this creates some skepticism (to say the least) about the importance of data driven instruction. Although some teachers have reservations of how much data should influence day to day school activities, you have research study after research study that confirm the enormous benefits of using data to improve classroom instruction. However, results of using data varies because the people using it vary in how much or how little they invest in using it. Essentially, teachers inherently limit the effectiveness of using data for the purpose of improving students' test outcome scores and overall comprehension and application skills if the teacher using it cannot or does not use the data effectively. The U.S. Department of Education (2011) published a report that highlights this very real fact. In it, they say, "In order for student data and data systems to have a positive influence on student learning, teachers not only need to locate, analyze, and interpret data, but also to plan and provide differentiated instruction through techniques such as individualized learning plans, flexible grouping strategies, and alternative instructional approaches geared to different student profiles." If teachers do not know how to do this, it simply isn't done. As one might imagine, this creates a vacuum which reveals a far deeper and concerning reality of teaching in American schools: Using data is a sharp, double-edged sword.

I remember my very first year of teaching, at my very first staff meeting an analogy/story was told to us about students in public schools. Someone said, "When you go to the market and buy strawberries and realize once you take them home that the strawberries are rotten, you take them back to the store and get a new batch. In school, we can't take our strawberries back." I realized very early on that teaching in public schools is an immense challenge. Kids come into class with all sorts of personal and home issues. In spite of what troubles arise, teachers are expected to guide students through the mine field of their personal strife and complete their homework assignments and score high marks on tests. Some students in my high school English class were so tired from working late nights in order to help their families financially, it was difficult for them to finish projects and write papers, let alone read multiple chapters of a novel. But they tried their best because their education mattered. I have always found inspiration in those young souls pressing on even though their standardized test scores were mediocre at best. Those numbers never tell the human story or the effort some students make just to make it to school on time. My first year as a Language Arts teacher working with juniors and seniors in a high school was such an eye opening experience because I understood right then that being a teacher is more than working with numbers. It means more than looking at data charts and putting children's lives into columns in an Excel spreadsheet.

Out here in the "real" world of education in public schools, however, the human stories of perseverance is reserved for newspaper articles, television shows and feel-good public announcements by politicians. They tend to go no further than highlighting children when the cameras are rolling and the general public is listening. Because at the end of the day, what drives all school systems is funding, and funding is often determined or justified by data numbers of some sort. And if the "big wigs" of a school system want to keep their six-figure jobs, the school system has to show positive data trends under their leadership. It's like that at the top, it's like that in "middle management," it's like that at the administrative level in school houses, and it falls in the laps of teachers. But how do you relay this to children? How do you convince kids that doing well on a test is good for them? Is it really? Or is it actually just good for teachers? And in turn, good for administrators and upper management and all the way up to the superintendent and even higher up to the mayor, governor and even the president? Who really wins from all these test scores?

I remember my second year as a teacher. I worked in a middle school in Hialeah, Florida. The principal was a stern, demanding woman. She wanted every possible measurement of data to show gains. But there was something special about her: she wanted students to feel important. There were all sorts of clubs and family involvement, students absolutely loved the school. I did, too. The students took tests, but that wasn't the big deal there. What mattered was the administration team. They were people, too. Their lives, their stories were known and felt. They were approachable and did not cram numbers down our throats and made us feel worthless because our students didn't do so well on their test scores. Instead, they asked the teachers what could be done to help students learn what they needed in order to turn their performance around. It was a collective effort. We all had a stake in it and that allowed for some camaraderie, which inspired us all to invest more time and effort in making those improvements. The administrative team assisted the teachers and helped figure out ways (creative ways) to help students improve their overall skills. And in the end, those numbers did improve which elevated everyone's morale, students, teachers and administration. It was probably the only truly "happy" time in my teaching career because ever since then it has been all about data. This is the single most de-humanizing aspect of teaching, in my opinion.

To be fair, data is not our enemy. It is a tool. But like any tool, it can be converted into a weapon. A hammer is necessary when building things. However, striking someone with a hammer on their head can literally kill them. The leaders in school systems large and small everywhere often forget the implications of using data for purposes other than being a tool. It is their proverbial hammer, and it is very common for them to bash teachers with data. It is more practical, of course, to use these "tools" for their intended purposes. Use test scores to adjust instruction, and use collaborative time to accommodate the imposed curriculum to truly help students instead of only looking at how the numbers will help careers.

I am by no means the only teacher making this assertion. The repetitive and cyclical nature of this argument never ceases because the people who make the decisions on this matter tune it out. It could very well be because of politics, but my cynical side believes the issue is never addressed, frankly, because the idea data is used to demoralize schools is absolutely true. Some administrators and their superiors actually like using data as weapons. It empowers them more to keep their subordinates in check. And the truth is teachers wish this wasn't the reality, but it is. Walk into any staff meeting or professional development session in education and data is generally presented as a tool in a positive light. I hear the word "tool" and think: hammers, drills, and axes. The makings of a cheap horror film. Unfortunately, it's how some schools years actually turn out.