Using Data to Make Better Educational Decisions

Most of the business world has been using what is known as 'data-driven' decision making for quite some time now. From retail to medicine to travel, the ability to access data from any point and crosscheck it is commonplace—except in the educational sector. Striefer builds a case arguing that the correct use of data—and the relationship between different types of data—can be used to help answer the most complex questions in education today. This process of analyzing evidence can help school administrators go to the public with the best and most accurate information they can quickly bring together.

Philip A. Streifer is associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Connecticut as well as the president and CEO of EDsmart, Inc., an educational technology company. He has over 20 years of experience in the fields of education and educational administration and has held superintendent positions in both Rhode Island and Connecticut.