Does your school organization make decisions because they sound good or because internal analysis shows they're the right decisions to make? In other words, what department do your decisions fall under? Marketing or R & D?
What is amusing about the decision making process in my district is that it does not consistently fall into either category. If it is a teacher decision, the admin will ask if it is 'data-driven'. Sometimes the admin will use data to back up decisions, but other times they will totally disregard the data because they want to do it their way or it's what the parents want(regardless of the known research). The double standard that is sent to teachers is not lost and undermines the effectiveness of the organization as a whole. I think that data is a wonderful tool when it is consistently applied to the decision making process. Unfortunately, that is not the model I am experiencing.
Posted by: Diana | March 13, 2007 at 08:06 PM
Because I work in the private sector marketing is always part of the picture. However, I believe that all growth plans must be based on the best possible data about student learning....after all that is good marketing. Isn't our business to provide the best possible education for our students!
Posted by: Barbara | March 14, 2007 at 09:35 AM