Just say No to Data-Driven Decision Making

Should we be promoting Data-Driven Decision Making or Data-Driven Instruction?

   No !

We should be promoting Data-Informed Decision Making and Data-Informed Instruction.

Let’s put our Educators in the driver’s seat !

Points —

• Data, by itself, is raw, unprocessed “stuff”.  No one can or should act on data!
• Information is what comes from data when its processed in an intelligent way. Usually many bits of data are combined to produce real information.
• It is an active process that translates data into information. Often the process is done by people, but it can be a set of rules, created by people, that is accomplished in computer software.
• Computer software can do some tasks (counting, sorting, etc.) much faster and more reliably than humans. Software can summarize data very efficiently.
• Humans can do other tasks (pattern recognition) much better than software.
• In very complex situations, such as in education, many threads of information are necessary to make significant decisions. (In education, two of the most significant threads are student characteristics and the classroom context.) Humans are much better at synthesizing such complex information, than is any software.
• Therefore, the data, by itself, should drive NOTHING !
• The driving needs to done by educators, who bring together many threads of information to make each important educational decision.

 So let’s call it Data-Informed Decision Making from now on.

One final note: I do understand that most people who use the term “data-driven instruction” do not actually operate under the belief that raw data should be blindly followed. In fact, most educators do adequately process their data before they act. This essay is really a plea to use the most accurate description of what is taking place and to caution about the dangers of acting on unreliable data.

Comments, as always, are welcomed.

David Mott