Data preparation (also called "wrangling" or "cleaning") -- the evaluation and manipulation of data prior to formal analysis -- is often dismissed as a precursor to meaningful engagement with a dataset. Here, we re-envision data preparation in light of calls to prepare students for a data-rich world. Traditionally, curricular…

Despite the rising popularity of big data, there is speculation that evaluators have been slow adopters of these new statistical approaches. Several possible reasons have been offered for why this is the case: ethical concerns, institutional capacity, and evaluator capacity and values. In this method note, we address one of these barriers and aim…

Joint efforts by the Government of Nepal, development partners and key stakeholders to achieve SDG 4 by 2030 have improved education access, participation and retention. However, learning outcomes in Nepal remain stagnant. What resources and contextual factors are associated with good school performance in Nepal? By merging and analyzing existing…

Since 2013, DaSy has tracked the status of Part C and Part B 619 state data systems to understand states' technical assistance needs, provide stakeholders with a national picture of what capacities state data systems have, and to track how those capacities are changing over time. Most recently, in spring of 2021, DaSy collected comprehensive…

Teachers in the United States are increasingly tasked with using data to inform their classroom instruction both through federal policies, such as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2016), and state policies requiring the use of teacher-determined data-driven goals for performance evaluations (MA 603 CMR 35.07). Many teachers, however, report…

Purpose: The datafication of teaching and learning settings continues to be of broad interest to the learning sciences. In response, this study aims to explore a non-traditional learning setting, specifically two Golf Teaching and Research Programs, to investigate how athletes and coaches capture, analyze and use performance data to improve their…

Hands-on computing education requires a realistic learning environment that enables students to gain and deepen their skills. Available learning environments, including virtual and physical laboratories, provide students with real-world computer systems but rarely adapt the learning environment to individual students of various proficiency and…

Background: Digital Information Literacy (DIL) refers to the ability to obtain, understand, evaluate, and use information in digital contexts. To accurately capture various dimensions of DIL, assessment designers have increasingly looked toward complex, interactive simulation-based environments that afford more authentic learner performances.…

Utilizing popular murder-mystery texts that transcend boundaries of race, class, age, and sex, students apply Toulmin's 1958 concept of claim, data, warrant (Toulmin, S. E. 2003. The uses of argument. Cambridge University Press). Ultimately, students engage in an activity that demonstrates how argumentation plays a role outside of the college…

U.S. colleges and universities are under increasing pressure to appear racially diverse, but have yet to account systematically for a quickly growing contingent of multiracial-identifying students. Drawing on interviews with multiracial-identifying undergraduates at Western University, I demonstrate how everyday university practices compromise…

Contemporary research on preservice teachers' data use opportunities, coursework, and interventions typically focuses on preservice teachers' perceptions about data use comfort, confidence, and preparedness. Despite the contribution of such research to understanding the efficacy of approaches to teacher preparation, understanding preservice…

This paper critically examines the design and impact of two commonly used education platforms for reading, "PM eCollection" and "Epic." Framed by a data justice lens, the study employs a walkthrough methodology to examine the ways each platform (re)configures teaching and learning practice, and more broadly schooling. The study…

The accountability era has produced school grading systems that purport to evaluate school effectiveness yet utilize hegemonic formulas that label low-scoring schools and neighborhoods, depriving them of incentive monies tied to their school grades. This quantitative study analyzed the publicly available data of 106 elementary schools in one large…

Digital learning environments are becoming increasingly ubiquitous as a wide range of EdTech products and services enter classrooms and households across the globe. One salient attribute of these environments is their capacity to generate large amounts of data as students interact with the technology. These data logs can help construct a detailed…

Many departments seek to improve their equity, diversity, and inclusion using data-informed methods; however, not much is known about how closely department leadership aligns their review practices with appropriate theory. This dissertation seeks to explore four areas: 1) how are equity, diversity, and inclusion are being conceptualized (implied…