Relay Data Protocol

"Though test-based accountability policies seek to redress educational inequities, their underlying theories of action treat inequality as a technical problem rather than a political one: data point educators toward ameliorative actions without forcing them to confront systemic inequities that contribute to achievement disparities. To highlight the problematic nature of this tension, the purpose of this paper is to identify key problems with the techno-rational logic of accountability policies and reflect on the ways in which they influence teachers’ data-use practices."

"This article examines an understudied aspect of teachers' sensemaking of student learning data: the way in which teachers explain the causes of the outcomes observed in data. Drawing on sensemaking and attribution theory and data collected in six middle schools, we find that while teachers most often attributed outcomes to their own instruction, they also frequently focused on supposedly stable student characteristics. By citing these characteristics as explanations for the results analyzed, teachers may have inhibited reflection on their practice and reinforced low expectations for English language learners (ELLs) and students in special education. These findings yield implications for (a) the effectiveness of data use reforms and (b) equity in the education of ELLs and students in special education."

"The findings from this study suggest that educational reforms and policies regarding data use influence educators’ conceptions of student achievement and ability. On the one hand, accountability policies can narrow the dialogue about students. On the other hand, educational reforms and policies could also lead to new ways of thinking about student learning and to an examination of a broader range of data, and provide opportunities for professional learning."

"This article highlights how participants' collaborative analysis of qualitative data broadened their knowledge for teaching and learning writing and promoted their development of a more responsive, rigorous, and integrated literacy pedagogy. Findings from this study suggest that teacher education and in-service professional development models that aim to support teachers in professional learning through data-inquiry must broaden the notion of what counts as data for data-driven instruction."