Dr. Philip Piety on Data-Driven Decision Making in the Education System
Dr. Philip Piety, of the University of Maryland College of Information Studies, examines how data can inform and guide education practices from prekindergarten through college in his paper, “Components, Infrastructures, and Capacity: The Quest for the Impact of Actionable Data Use on P–20 Educator Practice.”
The study looks at more than 1,500 publications in education that reflect data-driven decision making (DDDM), education data mining (EDM), and learning analytics (LA) – aiming to understand the impact that data can have on practice. It also looks to build a common view of these three largely distinct activities, but that are related in their temporal development, underlying logic models, and challenges in developing a consistent evidence base.
While there was little evidence in the literature reviewed of a widespread positive impact on practice, this review has shown some different ways to view these activities and their potential for synergy and to affect systems.