Data Walls

After reading this article in the Washington Post today, I have been thinking a lot about the data wall in my classroom and what it says to students and families. The only data that is made super public in my classroom is our reading data.

Our Beginning of Year Reading Data Wall

Students are assigned numbers, and those numbers are displayed as they move up in reading levels.  The merits of these displays include goal setting with students and joint celebration.  I do believe that, with appropriate community building and discussion, these boards can be a way to simply celebrate growth and accomplishment.  However as gaps in student achievement develop throughout the year, I know that those students whose numbers remain towards the bottom of the scale may start to internalize this lack of growth.  Students can quickly figure out who belongs to each number, and I often overhear comments such as "Thomas is the smartest in our class!" While the comments are made in a light and happy way, they break my heart every time I hear them.  I try to produce an environment where students know they can get smart by working hard.  In fact that is what these public displays are meant to promote!  However this concept is a heavy one for first graders, and can easily be confused with the mixed messages they are getting from other places.

I have yet to land on one side of this debate.  I think about designing a growth based display, where student levels are left off but levels of growth are celebrated.  I think this could strike the right balance and align well with the message I am hoping to send to my kids.  

The only point I am afraid of losing is the idea of setting a common goal for the class. While growth is important and sends a great message, isn't it also important for students and parents to know where their student's data lies in terms of grade level expectations?  I have no answers to these questions...