The Balancing Act. Student classroom placement routines and the uses of data in elementary schools
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-09-2016-0098 |
| Pages | 390-406 |
| Published date | 03 July 2017 |
| Date | 03 July 2017 |
| Author | Vicki Park,Elise St John,Amanda Datnow,Bailey Choi |
| Subject Matter | Education,Administration & policy in education,School administration/policy,Educational administration,Leadership in education |
The Balancing Act
Student classroom placement routines and the
uses of data in elementary schools
Vicki Park
Department of Educational Leadership, San Jose State University, San Jose,
California, USA
Elise St John
American Institutes for Research, San Luis Obispo, California, USA, and
Amanda Datnow and Bailey Choi
Department of Education Studies, University of California, San Diego,
California, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine how data are used in classroom placement routines.
The authors explore educators’assumptions about the purposes of the classroom placement routine, detailing
the ostensive (i.e. structure and template) and performative aspects of the routine itself, and the implications
of data use for equity and leadership practices.
Design/methodology/approach –Using a multi-site case study involving in-depth interviews of teacher
and school leaders and observations of meetings, the authors examined the role that data played in classroom
placement routines in three elementary schools in the USA.
Findings –Findings show that educators across schools collected similar types of multi-dimensional data;
however, analysis and decision-making processes varied based on their assumptions and goals. Assessing
student needs holistically and balancing students across classes based on academic diversity, behavioral or
socio-emotional needs, gender and teacher workload were consistent patterns. There was a distinct difference
between collecting data and actually using it as a basis of decision making.
Research limitations/implications –These findings highlight the importance of using in-depth
observations to understand data use in schools. Educators’assumptions and philosophies about classroom
placement contributed to the pattern of discussion and decisions made throughout the routines. Delving
deeper into how data are used in specific routines and organizational contexts can illuminate how data use is
socially constructed and enacted for equity.
Practical implications –Educatorswho guide school routines havethe power to maintain taken-for-granted
assumptions aboutstudents, or to create counter-narratives.
Originality/value –This study provides insights into classroom and student placement processes by
emphasizing the social and interactional dimensions of data use as they unfold in practice. It also extends
empirical knowledge about the purposes, dimensions, and uses of data-driven decision making models.
Keywords Decision making, Educational policy, Organizational routines, Equity, Data use,
Classroom placement
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
A large part of the impetus for using data for decision making in education is to improve
teaching and learning and to reduce educational disparities, particularly for historically
disadvantaged populations. In the USA, federal policies such as the No Child Left Behind Act
explicitly presented this logic as a reason for the collection and use of student and school
Journal of Educational
Administration
Vol. 55 No. 4, 2017
pp. 390-406
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/JEA-09-2016-0098
Received 13 September 2016
Revised 3 March 2017
Accepted 3 April 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-8234.htm
This study was supported by a grant from the Spencer Foundation as part of their Evidence for the
Classroom Initiative. All opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and
do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agency. The authors thank the reviewers and editors
for their helpful feedback. The authors especially thank the educators who participated in the study
and generously shared their valuable time and insights with the authors.
390
JEA
55,4
performance data. Although much research has focused on how data are used for school
improvement, we know little about how data are used to inform the annual process of placing
students into classes. Research on tracking and ability grouping has long raised concerns
about access and equity (Oakes et al., 1997; Rubin, 2008), as studies show that students with
the highest academic needs are more likely to be assigned to the least effective teachers
(e.g. Clotfelter et al., 2006; Oakes and Guiton, 1995). However most of this work examining equity
issues in class placement has focused on secondary schools, rather than elementary schools.
The emphasis on data-driven decision making (DDDM) has also raised questions about
how data are collected and used for classroom placement and ability grouping decisions.
Because data use in particular has been strongly coupled with high-stakes state and federal
accountability systems, in some cases the use of data has led to problematic practices that
foster rather than mitigate gaps in student opportunities-to-learn (Jennings, 2012).
Alternatively, using data with an equity focus has helped educators recognize inequitable
practicesand reduce disparities betweenstudent groups (Park et al., 2013). As scholar s both in
the USA and internationally have noted, data are used for different purposes, by various
people/roles, and in myriad contexts (Earl and Katz, 2006 ; Ikemoto and Marsh, 2007; Archer
et al., 2013). There is established research, primarily based on interviews and surveys, about
how data use is impacting schools, but observational studies of how data are actually
discussed and enacted in data use practices are much more limited (for an exception see
Horn et al., 2015). This gap has led to calls for a deeper examination of the micro-process of
these practices as it plays outin specific school settings(Little, 2012). Overall,less attention has
been paid to how the elementary classroomplacement process unfolds andthe ways in which
data are conceptualized and used to justify, persuade, or argue against placement decisions.
In this study,we used observationalresearch methods to comparethe class placement routines
at three elementary schools and address the following questions: What are the ostensive
elements (i.e. template for performance) of the classroom placement routine process and data
use? What are the performative elements (i.e. specific practice) of data use enacted during
classroomplacement routines?How do these aspects of the routineshape placement decisions?
Conceptual framework
Our study lies at theintersection of data use and classroomplacement routines. How data use
influences this process and the implications for educational equity remain underexplored.
To investigate thisphenomenon, we employ a conceptual framework buildingon two bodies
of literature: research on data use in context; and theories of organizational routines.
By examining data use practices and rationales in the context of classroom placement
routines, we explore how educators make sense of data as routines unfold in practice.
Data use models in context
The literature on data usehas shifted away from normative and singular models of DDDM to
an emphasis on understanding how data are conceptualized and used within specific contexts.
DDDM is not a monolithic model (Ikemoto and Marsh, 2007; Schildkamp et al., 2013) nor
an unqualified good (Diamond and Cooper, 2007). Data can be employed to justify rather
than challenge inequitable practices or deficit assumptions about students (Bertrand and
Marsh, 2015; Diamond and Cooper, 2007) and steer conversations away from instructional
improvement to instructional management (Hornet al ., 2015). This work has underscored the
importance of examining how different sets of contextual factors may produce a given data use
model and consequences. Educators’ability to use data may be enabled or constrained by a
host of structural and cultural factors in real life settings, including international, state,
and local policy contexts (Datnow and Hubbard, 2016; Park and Datnow, 2017;
Schildkamp et al., 2013). For example, in a study of data use in the UK, Germany, Poland,
Lithuania, and the Netherlands, Schildkamp et al. (2013) found that educators reported using
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The Balancing
Act
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