Reviews for Using Data to Improve Student Learning in High Schools

The average rating for Using Data to Improve Student Learning in High Schools based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-06-23 00:00:00 Tommy Morgan At one point in The Flickering Mind, the author points out that, given the extreme difficulty of defining good, measurable indicators of progress or success in education, a large quantity of education "studies" are essentially worthless, or, worse yet, deceptive. As a result, people in education tend to be very dismissive of the studies or statistics that support alternative views, viewing them as flawed, while still maintaining the merits of the studies or statistics that bolster their own views. This is an important point to be made, yet it also manages to suck much of the power out of an otherwise interesting book, as the author himself can't help but fall into that trap at times. When discussing the Las Vegas conference for Renaissance software, the author goes to great length to show that the testimonials given by teachers who saw great success with the software were either misleading or suffering greatly from a latent variable bias; yet when making a criticism of a certain program or technology, the author would frequently use testimonials of dissatisfied teachers as confirmation of his point. When discussing standardized test scores and other ways of measuring progress for the masses, the author strongly critiques both the concept and the studies that attempt to use gains in test scores as proof of efficacy; yet when offering examples of school-done-right in the final section, the author can't help but include statements from teachers saying that they have been able to increase their percentage of students at a certain reading level (as measured by standardized tests) from some low percent to some high percent. In many ways, this isn't really the fault of the author. Measuring success in education - *real* success, rather than hollow gains in standardized test scores - is notoriously difficult, yet if some discussion is to occur regarding which approaches have merit and which don't, some standard of comparison is needed. This leaves those engaged in the debate with the need to find something, anything, that will help defend their hypothesis. Yet without strong, carefully handled statistical analysis and conclusions (which is woefully absent), we are left with an argument based on anecdotal evidence. Anecdotal evidence can be very compelling, yet ultimately the argument seems to boil down to: "my anecdotes are good and correct; their anecdotes are false and misleading." In this book we are given a snapshot of the author's experiences monitoring kids in high-tech schools ("many of the kids sat at their computers, looking around with bored expressions...") as well as kids in schools that are closer to the author's ideal approach ("some of their artwork was so good it could have been shown in a professional gallery..."). We are also told anecdotes by teachers supporting technology, which are then investigated and shown to be misleading, as well as anecdotes by teachers against technology, which are taken at face value. I suppose we are to believe that the author has already weighed the evidence for us and is pointing out the places where critique is needed. But for someone who is not already convinced of the author's argument, that may be too much of a leap. And yet, I am largely convinced of the author's argument. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I am in agreement his skepticism. I am less sure about his proposed remedies - his examples of successful schools remind me of food writers who discuss the merits of local organic farms, which leave me interested and compelled, yet ultimately unsure how such a concept could ultimately replace the factory farms that feed the vast majority of the country. But simply on the basis of the fact that The Flickering Mind even asks the question of whether or not technology is good for education, I would recommend it for any interested parent or educator. Anecdotes aside, one thing we can say with certainty is that technology is expensive and requires a sustained commitment of investment, upkeep, and training, yet we have very little evidence regarding the efficacy of it. And all of this investment, upkeep, and training could be put towards things that we know improve education, like more and better teachers.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-03-05 00:00:00 Tracy Kunca Was difficult to get through, boring at times. Overall message to me was the technology in the classroom is here to stay, but we need to find other methods of using it in our teaching practices.