Predictive analytics in education can offer a benefit as long as educators heed the differences between how the tools are used in industry and how they should be used differently in schooling. Perhaps most important, teachers already know a great deal about their students — far more than an investor knows about a stock or a baseball scout about an up-and-coming pitcher.

Most of us believe that when individuals have goals, their performance improves, and this belief is being put to the test in schools today. In an effort to create alignment between district and school improvement efforts, teachers are more likely than ever to have formal performance goals.

Complementing traditional quantitative measures with more qualitative tools can help determine college and career readiness.

This article offers insight and guidance on issues to think about before tests are used as an evaluation tool and to help ensure better choices are made about the role test scores play in a teacher’s evaluation.

The problems faced within education resemble the problems in many social settings in that they lack clear definitions, have many potential causes, lack simple solutions, and defy straightforward measurement. In this article, Andrew Hegedus shares a view on the types of problems faced in education and outlines key characteristics of a process that begins with collecting data and ends with evaluating progress.