Data gathering is the process of collecting data of software measures to help us improve an educational process. The purposes of data gathering include characterization (e.g., describing weaknesses and strengths), assessment (e.g., evaluating program effectiveness), evaluation (e.g., examining the quality of the educational process or learner outcomes), control, prediction, and improvement. Data is most effectively gathered according to specific objectives and a plan. Data gathered without a clear objective is unlikely to be useful. The choice of data to be gathered is based on a model or hypothesis about the process being examined, and the data gathering process must consider its impact on the entire organization since it can be very expensive and time-consuming. Finally, effective data gathering has management support.
Published in Chapter:
Technology and Student Achievement
Lawrence A. Tomei (Robert Morris University, USA)
Copyright: © 2008
|Pages: 9
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-881-9.ch134
Abstract
Since the introduction of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, education in the United States has, in the words of President Bush, been seen as “a national priority and a local responsibility.” The first of the four basic education reform principles stated in the NCLB Act is local accountability for results. The second principle, flexibility and local control, empowers states to create their own standards and to test every student’s progress using tests aligned with these standards. In addition, there are also programs to promote the alignment of technology with educational goals within the NCLB legislation. In more and more states, school performance is assessed by means of a standardized assessment test which is designed to assess the academic level of students, schools, and districts. It is also intended to assist in identifying students’ strengths and weaknesses and to foster improvements in academic achievement. In one such state (that will remain anonymous) the reading and mathematics portions of the exam are administered to grades 5, 8, and 11.