Data-Driven to Despair: A Critical Examination of Making Educational Practice "Scientific"

• In Event: Hilton Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Perspectives on Accountability and Data-Driven Education

Abstract

In recent decades, federal policy makers have pushed for education to be a more “scientific” endeavor. Little attention has been given to the impact of this mandate on educational practitioners, however. By examining one district’s implementation of multi-tier system of supports (MTSS), we document how 1) reform leaders presumed the infallibility of the MTSS model, 2) relied exclusively on quantitative data, 3) standardized the needs of learners, processes of learning, and roles of teachers, and 4) insisted on fidelity of intervention as an absolute good. These effects were consequential as they dictated the terms of teaching and learning, constrained practitioners’ roles and expertise, and rendered teachers data-deferent rather than data-driven.

Authors

• Jennifer C. Ng, The University of Kansas

• Rebecca S. Martinez, University of Houston