Research on Data Use: A Framework and Analysis

Abstract

One of the central lessons from research on data use in schools and school districts is that assessments, student tests, and other forms of data are only as good as how they are used. But what influences how they are used? This relatively straightforward question turns out to be fairly complex to answer. Data use implicates a number of processes, conditions, and contexts. It involves interpretive processes, as using data requires that the user interpret the data and construct implications for next steps. It implicates social and organizational conditions, since the data use unfolds in the context of a multileveled organizational system. And, because data can be a source of power, particularly in the current accountability environment, data use also involves power relations. In this article, we put forward a framework for understanding the phenomenon of data use in the context of data use interventions. We draw on existing research and theory to identify key dimensions of data use that we should attend to and offer a way to understand how these dimensions might interact. In so doing, we provide guidance for studying the pathways between data use interventions and various outcomes of value.