The school misses out on a generous decision-making basis

Technological developments have made it increasingly easy to collect and analyze large amounts of information. It is already possible to measure and get direct feedback on school improvement efforts and policies, but it is not being done. This is according to five representatives of economic and technological fields of interest.

Sweden needs good schools if it is to meet the skills needs of the future. Good schools require good teachers and motivated students. This requires that schools benefit from the digitalization that is currently changing our world. Yet IT in schools has so far been synonymous with a pure technology debate - for or against tablets? That misses the whole point. Instead, we need to ask how we can use data to better understand the situation in schools and find ways to improve learning.

Technological developments have made it increasingly easy to collect and analyze large amounts of information. It is already possible to measure and get direct feedback on school improvement and school policy, but it is not done. Data is available, for example in SKL's Kolada database, which contains over 300 comparative figures on schools. Despite this, visitor statistics from Kolada show that 72 out of 290 municipalities did not use the database in 2012. This means that an important tool for schools is lost. For example, data from Kolada indicates that more money for suburban schools does not lead to better school results. A data-driven school policy, based on data collected directly from schools, reduces the risk of debating the wrong issues or drawing the wrong conclusions. It is not about who promises to give the most money to schools, but about how resources are used.


In the report "Towards better knowledge", the Chamber of Commerce summarizes experiences of data-driven development work from four different areas: national quality registers, the business community, other countries' school systems and work with open data.

The first example is the national quality registers in healthcare. They are an important knowledge resource for healthcare providers, researchers and policy makers. Similarly, a national quality register for schools could support teaching, research and school policy.


More and more companies are using IT to collect data to inform decisions. The second example is based on experience from Business Intelligence, which shows that more data does not lead to better decisions. It is about finding the right measures and data. In schools, it is primarily teachers who need to have the skills and responsibility to choose measures and targets for improvement work.  


The third example comes from schools in other countries that are collecting data to understand and improve their operations. This has led, for example, to the identification and dissemination of successful teaching practices in mathematics in the United States, and to teachers undertaking research projects based on school data as part of their professional development in South Korea.


Sweden's digital agenda prioritizes work with open public data - for example, data from public transport that has been used to develop travel apps. Here, too, there are important experiences that can be applied to the school sector. This applies not least to the identification of barriers in the form of unclear or old legislation that hinders development. More open school data would increase innovation in the school system.


All these examples point to knowledge that can be transferred to the school system. It would not solve all the problems of schools, but it is an important step on the way. In particular, better access to data would give teachers, school leaders and policymakers new opportunities to both see and demonstrate what is actually happening in our classrooms and schools. It would promote the spread of good practice, learning and collaboration between schools, and school policies based more on knowledge than on gut feelings. Schools need this.

Joakim Lundblad, Senior Analyst, South Sweden Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Magnus Kolsjö, Senior Manager and Open Data Expert, PwC
Pär Nygårds, Industry Policy Expert, IT & Telecomföretagen
David Mothander, Nordic Policy Manager, Google
Markus Bylund, Research Manager, SICS Swedish ICT


The article was published in its entirety on Dagens Samhälle 2014-03-05, opens in new window.