Event Announcement: The Next Decade of Educational Data

It’s now common to extol the virtues of data. But we’re trying to make this event a little different. On December 7th, we’ll discuss challenges and ideas from health care and other fields, emerging applications of these ideas in education, and how our current approach to data may need to adjust.

First, the keynote speaker, Aneesh Chopra, our country’s first chief technology officer, is not to be missed. He’s a real rock star and understands these issues across a variety of contexts (background on Chopra and video from his talk to the State Education Technology Directors Association).

Second, this conversation will extend beyond annual high stakes state test scores. Many other fields, in particular, health care, are trying to use data to create rapid-learning cycles of research and practice. One of our panelists, Lynn M. Etheredge, has been at the forefront of these ideas and influential in health care reform legislation around comparative effectiveness research. A recent paper by Etheredge outlines how current health care research doesn’t always translate into effective practice — an issue very much at play in education:

While the scientific and health services research communities have produced evidence about what works in health care, studies generally: (a) leave many gaps in knowledge about what works best for individual patients and population subgroups; and (b) take years to complete and even longer to become the standard of practice in the industry. A rapid-learning health care system would continue to use traditionally produced evidence, but would also use large data sets to quickly develop, test, and disseminate new evidence for appropriate care for much broader segments of the population.

What would a rapid-learning education system look like? Bror Saxberg, another one of our panelists, is putting these ideas into practice (see webinar), applying principles from cognitive science and using large amounts of data to help improve learning outcomes. (Bror is also brilliant — he’s a Rhodes Scholar, has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from M.I.T. and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School!)

And, to keep it all grounded, Sharren Bates, who helped develop the ARIS data system for New York City and Beverly Donohue, who helps support 76 New York City schools to use data in innovative ways, will provide insights from their work at both the district and school levels.

Join us on December 7th. See additional details and register at our web site.