MISCONCEPTION #5

Misconception #1 Misconception #2 Misconception #3 Misconception #4 Misconception #5

Once a warehouse is created, the job is over.

Many policymakers assume that simply creating a data warehouse and making the data available to the public ensure that researchers and preparation programs will collect and analyze credible evidence about teacher preparation. Creating and making data accessible are necessary perquisites for such work to be completed, but states, universities, and teacher preparation programs must also build the capacity of personnel to create usable data sets, analyze the data, and interpret the data. Although many people assume that universities and teacher preparation programs have such capacity, our work with programs from across the country has convinced us that this simply is not the case. Not many people have the expertise and experience necessary to create usable data sets from state data and to merge them with information collected by preparation programs and school districts. Moreover, few researchers have the capacity to put together such data sets, use the appropriate statistical methodologies, interpret the results, and convey the results in a meaningful way to the personnel who actually run the preparation programs.

States such as Illinois, Florida and Texas have worked to create data warehouses that collect and provide analyses of data.

Last updated: February 22, 2006