The Data Revolution The Role of Leadership References Turning Data into Information Using Data to Transform Education Damian W. Betebenner National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment Dover, NH DQC Northeast Regional Forum Boston, Massachusetts July 12th, 2011 Damian W. Betebenner Turning Data into Information

The Data Revolution The Role of Leadership From Data to Information to Knowledge References From a Paucity to a Plethora of Data Data Data Everywhere (The Economist, 2010) More and better organized data: mega, giga, tera, peta, exa, zetta, yotta! Historical records of student achievement. Linkage of student achievement to student demographics, teachers, schools, educational programs, . . . Stakeholder interest in examining student achievement over time (student growth) derives from data availability. Damian W. Betebenner Turning Data into Information

The Data Revolution The Role of Leadership From Data to Information to Knowledge References The Data to Knowledge Continuum Damian W. Betebenner Turning Data into Information

The Data Revolution The Role of Leadership From Data to Information to Knowledge References My Role: Developing State Growth Models Education as a process (growth) instead of a destination (status). Growth/Value-Added Model Selection: Important but the easiest step (You have a growth/value-added model, now what). Identifying stakeholder groups who will make use (who we want to make use) of these data: Parents, teachers, principals, policy makers, . . . . The data can tell a thousand stories: Crafting data narratives that foster educational improvement. The data do not speak for themselves. My role: Educate state clients about growth and help them develop a new vocabulary that enables conversations about the progress of students through the education system. Damian W. Betebenner Turning Data into Information

The Data Revolution The Role of Leadership From Data to Information to Knowledge References My Role: Developing State Growth Models Design, first and foremost, with use in mind: How should the data be used. What are the conversations we want stakeholders (parents, teachers, principals, administrators, and policy makers) to have? How exactly will the data supplied enable those conversations. Turning data into information is primarily a social process. The leader’s role is to create the environment allowing the social process to flourish. Damian W. Betebenner Turning Data into Information

The Data Revolution The Role of Leadership From Data to Information to Knowledge References The Role of Leadership: Creating a Virtuous Data Cycle Assessment Data Quality Assessment Data Use Damian W. Betebenner Turning Data into Information

The Data Revolution The Role of Leadership Bringing together diverse leadership References Developing a Successful Growth Model In the states demonstrating success in implementing student growth models, one commonality stands out: Commitment to the growth model by three key groups within any department of education: Directors of Measurement/Assessment. Directors of Accountability. Directors of Information-Technology. Measurement/Assessment specialists understand the state assessments and will need to be able to understand and explain growth data derived from those assessments. Accountability directors will be involved in the use of these data, particularly as they pertain to accountability initiatives. CIOs/IT directors will often be tasked will helping to disseminate the results of the growth model. These directors become mavens for the work to others within their organization that reach out to the diverse range of stakeholders. Damian W. Betebenner Turning Data into Information

The Data Revolution The Role of Leadership Bringing together diverse leadership References Summary Growth models can fundamentally change conversations (for the better) about education. Orchestrating these changes requires broad ownership and adoption of the growth model within a DOE. Growth model adoption is a two to three year process: Changing perceptions of education as a process instead of a destination takes time. Leading states like Massachusetts and Colorado have been mavens illustrating how data can be turned into information. Damian W. Betebenner Turning Data into Information

The Data Revolution The Role of Leadership Bringing together diverse leadership References Web 2.0: Data Visualization and Social Networking With a collaborative spirit, with a collaborative platform where people can upload data, explore data, compare solutions, discuss the results, build consensus, we can engage passionate people, local communities, media and this will raise–incredibly–the amount of people who can understand what is going on. And this would have fantastic outcomes: the engagement of people, especially new generations; it would increase knowledge, unlock statistics, improve transparency and accountability of public policies, change culture, increase numeracy, and in the end, improve democracy and welfare. E. Giovannini, Chief Statistician, OECD. June 2007 Damian W. Betebenner Turning Data into Information

The Data Revolution The Role of Leadership References References The Economist and Cukier, K. (2010). Data data everywhere. Damian W. Betebenner Turning Data into Information

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Turning Data into Information Using Data to Transform Education — Data Quality Campaign, July 12, 2011.

This is an image-based copy of the original beamer slides; builds and animations are flattened.