Critical issues in using data for decision‐making

Based on their experience of direct work with 16 principals in a midwest state in the USA, collaborative work with the state department of education and the major state‐level professional associations and universities in the same state, and other state‐level initiatives across the USA, the authors discuss eight critical issues concerning data‐informed decision‐making: (a) an overemphasis on achievement data based on standardized tests, (b) data 'of' learning vs 'for' learning, (c) the need to intersect student achievement data with other streams of data, (d) the need to improve the technological infrastructure for data analysis in school districts, (e) the politics of data, (f) the role of university teacher education and administrator preparation programs in the movement of data‐informed decision‐making, (g) the function and role of data in the educational process, and (h) the limitations of data‐informed decision‐making in improving the educational system.