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Abstract
As data-based decision making is receiving increased attention in education, more and more school performance feedback systems (SPFSs) are being developed and used worldwide. These systems provide schools with data on their functioning. However, little research is available on the characteristics of the different SPFSs. Therefore, this study reflects on the characteristics of SPFSs to provide feedback designers and users arguments for making sound choices in selecting SPFSs with particular characteristics. The results of our study show that the 5 SPFSs selected for the purpose of comparison differ with respect to features related to data gathering and data analysis processes, the content, and the numerical measures and representation modes used. A wide variety can be detected in terms of the complexity and accuracy of data modeling. Users need to be properly informed about the underlying rationale for the features of each SPFS, and on the limitations and strengths of the performance indicators used.
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the directors and researchers of the SPFSs involved in this study for their cooperation: Dr. Christine Merrell, Director of Primary Systems, Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM), Durham University; Elizabeth Archer, Project coordinator of SAMP, Centre for Evaluation and Assessment, University of Pretoria; Geert Evers, Information Manager Primary Education, Centraal Instituut voor Toetsontwikkeling; Ilse Papenburg: Training and advice, Centraal Instituut voor Toetsontwikkeling; Dr. Jean Pierre Verhaeghe, Project coordinator of the SFP, Ghent University and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven; and Prof. John Hattie, Director of Visible Learning Labs, director of asTTle, University of Auckland
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Notes on contributors
Goedele Verhaeghe
Goedele Verhaeghe’s PhD was on the use of school performance feedback, and more specifically, the influence of content and representation modes on feedback interpretation. Currently, she is working at the Ministry of Education in Brussels.
Kim Schildkamp
Dr. Kim Schildkamp is an associate professor in the Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences of the University of Twente. Kim’s research, in The Netherlands but also in other countries, focuses on “data-based decision making for school improvement”. She has been invited as a guest lecturer and keynote speaker at several conferences and universities, including AERA, the University of Pretoria in South Africa, and the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She is a board member of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI) and chair of the ICSEI data use network. She has published widely on the use of data.
Hans Luyten
Prof. Dr. Hans Luyten is an associate professor of education at the Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences of the University of Twente at Enschede, The Netherlands. He is an internationally recognized expert on multilevel analysis. His research interests include longitudinal studies both at the individual student level (growth curve analysis) and higher (trends at school and system level), international comparisons, educational disadvantage, and the development of methodologies for assessing the effect of schooling on student development.
Martin Valcke
Prof. Dr. Martin Valcke is head of the Department of Educational Studies at the Ghent University (Belgium). His research field is the innovation of higher education and performance indicator studies. Detailed info about his publications can be found via http://users.ugent.be/~mvalcke/CV/CVMVA.htm