Comments on: No datum left behind: Making good use of every bit of educational data

By: Matt Renwick

Matt Renwick — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 20:26:58 +0000

In reply to Eric Stickney. Thank you Eric for responding. Your openness to suggestions and thoughtful explanations are appreciated. I look forward to observing the improvements in AR.

By: Eric Stickney

Eric Stickney — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 15:48:01 +0000

Thank you Matt for your thoughtful comments. You raise an important point that numbers by themselves, without context, can be unhelpful. We strive to make sure that every metric we collect and communicate to teachers is educationally meaningful. And when we use data to shape our products and professional services, we do so by grounding the data in accepted theories and facts about teaching, learning, and measurement. We have a rich set of data from programs like Accelerated Reader or STAR assessments, which is, as you said, a key piece of the puzzle. A teacher or counselor’s observations about a student provide even more information. We agree that integrating the qualitative with the quantitative could provide even richer data, and we are actively thinking about ways to do that.

Two other points you raised were also interesting. First, regarding student interaction, AR 360, the latest version of Accelerated Reader, supports peer interaction around informational reading. Technology, of course, supports social interaction, and we are investigating other ways students could interact that would be support their learning, while avoiding common social pitfalls. Second, AR points serve as an indicator of practice. Points are a mashup of three factors: volume of text, difficulty of text, and student comprehension of that text. I think we can all agree that all three factors are important for teachers to know. Simply measuring reading by volume (books or words read) or difficulty can provide an incomplete picture of the student’s reading. Where it gets tricky is how metrics such as points are used. Tying points to competitions, prizes, and the like can create an extrinsic motivational system that may be unhelpful for encouraging students to become lifelong readers. We recommend they be used only in setting goals for individual students as an overall measure of those three critical reading practice factors. In the past we advocated using points as a motivational tool, but our recommendations here have evolved along with the research. Instead, if schools want to celebrate reading practice, we encourage celebrating students who meet their personalized goals.

Again, I really appreciate your comments. We are always looking for more ways to improve our programs via our Research Panel. To sign up, visit https://www.renaissance.com/Resources/Research-Panel.

By: Matt Renwick

Matt Renwick — Fri, 07 Aug 2015 15:18:39 +0000

As a principal, I’m interested how specific activities can help increase student engagement, especially at the intermediate grade levels. Numbers are fine, but they don’t tell me a lot about how motivated students are with their learning. Specifically, what qualitative types of information could be measured regarding engagement? What tools could help assess student dispositions toward learning and student interactions with each other about their reading lives? Accelerated Reader has a very robust system. It could be even better if kids were allowed to interact with each other in this online space. They should be able to not only rate books, but also write reviews, recommend books to others, and share their to-read lists. Think Goodreads for kids.

I’m also troubled that Accelerated Reader still promotes a point system. How many studies need to come out before Renaissance Learning decides to scrap this external motivation tool, something that can actually decrease a student’s motivation to become a lifelong reader who doesn’t need a point system to pick up that next book?

Data is great. Quick comprehension checks certainly give us some information about surface-level understanding. This information can certainly aid a teacher in being more responsive in their instruction. But if student information systems only provide a number, then it fails serves to encourage further learning for the sake of pursuing knowledge and interests. Some things just aren’t quantifiable. This is something I am looking to investigate.

Respectfully,
Matt Renwick