How Do Teachers Make Sense of Data? A Study of Teachers' Interpretative Arguments in High-Stakes Assessment

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 70
  In Roundtable Session: Cognition and Assessment SIG Roundtable 2

Abstract

This study examines an understudied aspect of teacher judgement: the way teachers make sense of data. With the aim of enhancing the quality of educational decisions, teachers are increasingly expected to collect data to inform high-stake decisions. However, the same data may be interpreted in different ways by different teachers. In this study, we used theories on data use, judgmental heuristics and an argument-based approach to validation to critically examine teachers’ interpretative arguments about pupils’ competences. First results show that teachers use subjective criteria to make sense of data collected rationally to a great extent. For theory and practice it implies that enhancing data use will not necessary lead to an increased quality of teacher assessment.

Authors

• Kristin Vanlommel, University of Antwerp

• Kim Schildkamp, Universiteit Twente