Henig: ‘Data’ Doesn’t Have to be a Dirty Word in Education
February 9, 2021
In a recent piece in Education Week, Columbia University political science and education professor Jeffrey Henig urges the administration of President Joe Biden to commit earnestly to building a “community-friendly national culture of data generation, dissemination, and use.” Henig adds, “A reimagined system of data could encourage a bottom-up use of information nationwide” and reverse the skepticism of data in education that has been cultivated in the U.S. since the inception of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. Henig describes some ways the administration might encourage states and districts to bolster their data collection efforts, noting that a “wide array of measures” could establish a shared focus and narrative for educators and advocates as they work to improve schools and increase student outcomes.