data as music

“Information without understanding is not information. It is merely noise.”
William Sanders

Data. What to do with data? What data should we collect? What is the purpose of a particular set of data? What are the means and what is the end? Will the analysis be targeted to meet a need and increase instructional and/or organizational efficiencies that result in improved student performance outcomes?

Many districts have adopted the mantra that their decisions are data-driven, but will this be another initiative that flounders due to a lack of protocols or suffer from an unarticulated purpose? With all the reform initiatives flooding schools, will people consider data as a sign that a particular problem needs attention?

Signs, signs, everywhere a sign, blocking out the scenery breaking my mind. Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?

You may recognize the chorus from the song Signs, by The Five Man Electrical Band. The analogy being that too much data, without a common purpose, becomes an intrusion rather than an sign of what needs attention. If a person can not interpret the signs, then the natural tendency may be to ignore the data.

Ignoring data and having teachers and administrators pursue their own personal initiatives without consideration of their context within the rest of the school community is the type of isolation sought by a hermit. The Greek word “idiot” means hermit (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997). Allow me to connect the dots: A person working in isolation without consideration of how data provides a context for his or her work is acting as a hermit, therefore this person is an… (My parents raised me to be polite so I will not connect the final dot).

The refusal to examine data is one form of ignorance. Robert Root-Berstein’s work on problem-solving and innovation explores the concept of ignorance. Nepistemology is the study of how ignorance is manifested. He cites the work of Witt (1988) that offers a typology of six types of ignorance; 1) known unknowns, 2) unknown unknowns, 3) misknowns, 4) unknown knowns, 5) taboos, and 6) refusal to look at answers. These six forms of ignorance need to be considered when crafting a data plan and when conclusions are drawn from data sets.

Perhaps a specific example will prove useful. William Sanders created an algorithm (the Tennessee Value-added Assessment System) to track the growth of individual students based on variables such as the student’s teacher and learning environment. His research suggests that when students change buildings, there is a loss in academic gains of 15-30 percent. Based on this data, how might a district evaluate a plan to re-structure the grade configuration of its schools to reduce the number of transitions? Based on Witt’s six levels of ignorance: 1) People knew there were other options but did not have relevant information about them, 2) People were unaware of any tangible benefits to reconfiguration, 3) People thought the current structure was the best format, 4) People may have sensed that building transitions were difficult, but may have attributed the problem to other causes, 5) & 6) Or is it a taboo in the community to even consider the redistricting which may occur if the configuration of the elementary, intermediate, or middle schools is changed? Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?

The public clamor to improve student achievement on standardized tests has escalated the attention to data. The question becomes, will data contribute to the noise, or will data become accepted as a sign that changes need to take place?

Make a good day,
Tod

PS. Sanders, W. (1998). Value-added assessment. The School Administrator, 55 (11) p. 24-27. Retrieved from https://www.boarddocs.com/mo/sdclay/Board.nsf/a8f91a9c9696786e8725731b0060d1e7/cb4491fc57ec27df852570d1007c9f7e/$FILE/ValueAddedAssmnt.pdf


PSS. Root-Berstein, R. (2003). Problem generation and innovation. In L.V. Shavinina (ed.), The International Handbook on Innovation (pp. 170-179). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science LTD.

PSSS. Official website of the Five Man Electrical band; a soundclip via Google; and the full song with a photo montage on YouTube;

PSSS. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York: Basic Books.