The Politics of Data Use by Data-Driven Schools

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: The Impact of School Choice on Schools and Communities

Abstract

The political currency of data to push for educational policy has steadily appreciated with the rise of the contemporary education reform movement. Denver’s commitment to school choice policies and recognition as a successful purveyor of these policies makes it an ideal location to examine how charter schools use data within their education eco-system. This paper is a preliminary analysis of how Denver based charter management organizations (CMO’s) use data to push for policy outcomes. This paper examines what types of data used, how data is discussed and how data is used to make claims about successes. Additionally, it examines how outside stakeholders such as families, communities, politicians and foundations support or challenge the methods employed by these Denver based CMO’s.

Author

• Brian A Lightfoot, University of Colorado - Boulder