Harnessing Data Visualization to Drive Continuous Improvement, Not Accountability

• In Event: Dashboards and Machine Learning Technology for Data-Driven Decision Making

Abstract

This study seeks to 1) establish two data sources as reliable and valid for providing formative feedback, 2) explicate design decisions that nudge users to use a continuous improvement lens when interacting with data instead of an accountability lens, 3) provide evidence that data visualizations consistent with those design principles can be operationalized. We show that it is possible to operationalize two design principles focused on growth and continuous improvement: 1) de-emphasizing metrics and visualizations focused on performance and accountability while foregrounding continuous improvement and 2) shifting users’ gaze from measures of central tendency to distributions. We must next study how these visualizations drive changes in coaches’ and teachers’ practices, and the subsequent impact on students’ academic and social-emotional outcomes.

Authors

• Grant Van Eaton, Teach For America, Inc.

• Gabriela Katz, Teach For America, Inc.

• Katie H. Buckley, Teach For America, Inc.

• Robin Greatrex, Teach For America, Inc.

• Gurjeet Dhillon, American Institutes for Research