To help SC students, education reports must not be cherry-picked for any certain agenda

Trying to keep up with the stream of student achievement data released over the past two months can feel a bit like drinking out of the proverbial fire hose. The rush of data started in September with a release from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showing stark declines in student performance nationally. In following weeks, the South Carolina Department of Education released results from a battery of standardized tests and the first set of school report cards with summative ratings since 2019. This week, the federal government released more NAEP data, this time with national and state-level data for 4th and 8th grade students in reading and math.

Trying to make sense of what we can - and can not - derive from these results can be overwhelming for students, educators, families, and policymakers. The easy temptation is to cherry-pick results to support an existing agenda or narrative, but that is self-serving rather than student-centered. In order to help our students recover from a global pandemic and navigate an ongoing epidemic of violence and threats, assessment data must be used appropriately.

In many ways, appropriate use of educational data should mirror use of results from medical examinations. First, productive use requires placing data within context. For example, if a routine physical exam shows weight gain, interpreting that result correctly is likely to differ if the patient also recently recovered from a broken leg. In a similar light, any reading of current educational data without a clear-eyed understanding of context in schools will miss the mark. As a teacher and member of the National Assessment Governing Board, I believe in the value of data to inform instructional practices and systemic reform efforts. Action is necessary if students are not mastering the content and skills needed for success in life. However, we must recognize each student has a unique academic trajectory and path, especially in light of pandemic-induced disruptions to learning and a burgeoning student mental health crisis. Within that context, the best use of academic data will find balance between striving to help students meet aspirational goals while recognizing the realities of current circumstances. This is something I constantly strive for as a teacher by using data to ensure all students are progressing toward rigorous goals while grounding instructional practices in an awareness and appreciation of the unique needs and circumstances of each student.

Second, student achievement data should be considered within the context of an assessment’s purpose. A patient would have understandable concerns if a doctor used results of a flu test to recommend a change in dietary habits. Standardized assessments (and by extension, state report cards) are almost exclusively focused on student mastery of academic standards, while the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate includes skills and attributes not easily measured on these assessments. As a result, relying exclusively on these assessments to make final judgments about student progress toward the goals of the Profile requires using those tests for a purpose beyond their intended design. To better measure student progress, we need a more holistic accountability system, one that replaces one-time, high stakes assessments with tools like NAEP while giving far greater weight to the myriad of tools that teachers like me use on a daily basis to evaluate student progress in all elements of the Profile.

Finally, the core purpose of looking at student data must be about developing a plan for the future. If a doctor diagnoses heart disease, a patient will naturally reflect on past actions, but they should dedicate even greater energy to adjusting future behaviors. Right now, students need adults to have a similar mindset. Using educational data to construct a winning narrative of the past doesn’t help a single child reach their academic potential. To achieve that goal, we must commit to ensuring every child has access to the high quality educators and resources necessary to successfully meet high standards and expectations.