The move towards evidence-based decision-making in education
Improving educational performance through the increased use of evidence-based decision-making is a common challenge faced by all modern education systems and their schools. Austria is no different, and its shift towards data-based decision-making has been particularly significant given the country's limited traditional experience in this area. Below, we discuss the background of implementing educational standards and performance tests in Austria, as well as findings from an interview study to examine the important role of school headteachers in data-based decision-making, including their attitudes, confidence and skills in this area.
Following Austria's first participation in the international performance comparison studies TIMSS 1995 and PISA 2000 and its unsatisfactory results, education policy stepped up its efforts to improve the quality of schooling, teaching and student performance. Similar to many other countries, educational policymakers introduced and revised evidence-based educational programmes.
The core idea behind this concept was to ensure decisions at all levels of the education system were more rational based on available knowledge and data. Following one of the trailblazers in the field of data-based decision-making, Ellen Mandinach[1], this included 'the systematic collection, analysis, examination, and interpretation of data to inform practice and policy in educational settings.' Along with the new concept of data-based decision-making, there has been an increase in accountability and autonomy at the decision-making levels.
However, national strategies differ considerably. In England and many other countries, decentralisation and deregulation are closely connected with monitoring and control. In other words, there are public rankings and test results or public audits are closely linked to the allocation of resources and the hiring, firing and payment of teachers.[2]