Keep students' lived experiences at the center of data use and ensure data reflect students' lives¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

This strategy warns that data users can become absorbed in trends and patterns tied to policies and programs and lose sight of the students they aim to serve. The brief advises users to "keep the context of the lived experiences of your students front and center" and, citing Safir and Dugan (2021) and Warner (2021), to ensure they have data that reflect the lives of their students. It supports the brief's broader equity focus.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Data collections should include data that reflect the lives of the students served

Constraints¶

Target Learners¶

• students whose lived experiences risk being obscured by aggregate trends

Target Learning Goals¶

• equitable understanding and service of student learning needs

Related Strategies¶

• Align selected data directly to the purpose or problem the data use is meant to serve
• Use data collaboratively through a structured data analysis process among educators
• Interrogate bias in data analysis by unpacking biases with colleagues and building skills to name bias in action
• Use multiple, diverse data sources selected to offer distinct yet complementary information

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Jessica Arnold, Julie Webb. (2024). 7 Recommendations for Using Education Data to Support Equitable Learning Outcomes. WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED655653