Quality and Usefulness of Data: Investigating the Discrepancies in Pakistani Public School Data and Implications for the Way Forward

Abstract

The quality school data contributes to reliable decision making in the school education system. The data provided by different organizations should be consistent, valid and complement each other to establish its quality and usefulness. The present study purports to explore the discrepancies among the different data sources that have implications for improving the quality and usefulness of school data. The available school data from various sources of school education was used followed by an explanation through semi-structured interviews with the teachers employing an explanatory mixed methods design. The results revealed that there were substantial discrepancies among varying school data sources that did not reflect the ‘real’ work efficiency of the schools and the school authorities excessively rely on such data for significant decision-making. This leads to a risk of bringing meaningless reforms in the school education system. These discrepancies found in the school data sources have implications for improving the existing practices of data collection and a performance appraisal mechanism in schools.