As a special education teacher, data collection is a major part of my career.
As a special education teacher, data collection is a major part of my career. I find that I am comfortable with the data collection and analysis process, but the timeliness of the task of collecting formal data is a personal weakness for me. I currently service 25 students in a resource room setting, some of which have bi-weekly progress monitoring as part of their IEP goals and objectives. Some of these students I only see daily for a half an hour. Data collection is challenging for me because I struggle to find the balance between instructional time and ensuring there’s time for data collection. As Pella (2012) notes, “accountability for student learning and overall school performance has been associated with performance on tests” (p.57). However, if I’m constantly assessing my students, I question if I am giving them enough time and instruction to actually learn the content.
As Schouten (2017) notes, data is meant to allow us to meet our students where they are. If unethical actions are taking place when collecting data, such as falsifying information, data becomes invalid and inaccurate. In order to truly know the current performance for each student, fidelity in data collection is key. Personally, I rely on quantitative and qualitative data equally when looking at instructional decision making. I have students who have test taking anxiety and may answer questions incorrectly when I’ve observed them previously being capable of answering similar questions correctly at other times.
A major challenge that I see with using data to select scientific-based programs and strategies is that a variety of data collection tools must be used to ensure accuracy. As I previously mentioned, as student may perform poorly on a standardized assessment and this may not be a true reflection of their skills. If a program or strategy is chosen based on this snapshot of information, it may not be the most appropriate option for this child. Additionally, as I’ve found to be a personal struggle, data collection is time consuming and can take away from critical instructional time. However, a strength of using data is that when it is collected using a variety of tools, teachers can use this information to hone in on specific strengths and challenges that their students have.
Answer preview As a special education teacher, data collection is a major part of my career.
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