Importance Of Data Analysis

Data analysis offers an insight into what students know, should know, and what can be done to meet their academic needs. Students deserve an education that will provide opportunities for them to learn and grow. However each student has a unique background, strengths and weaknesses that play a significant role in educating them. When educators and parents can appropriately analyze and interpret data, they can make informed decisions that will significantly affect student-learning experiences. Technology has had a significant impact on our lives today, from creating algorithms to examining behavior patterns. In education we are constantly looking for data to help shape what we do in the moment, and steer us in a better direction for the future. …show more content…
In ordinal variables, the distance between categories has no meaning. The most commonly applied ordinal in education is classroom grades. Ordinal variables are difficult to use for mathematical operations. “Yet, we ignore the rules and do what we want with grades. We create grade averages and class ranks based on those averages. We use these averages to select valedictorians and award honors.” This level of measurement is impartial and should not be used in calculations, but we continue to use this type of data to classify students inadequately. The interval level of measurement provides more concrete data analysis. Values are created based on data that can be ordered and have a distinct difference between each level, hence the term interval measurement. Variables at the interval level can be used in calculations and drawing conclusions. The interval level does not have a zero or starting point, but changes at a constant rate. The range between the data points is interpretable and therefore can be used to compute averages, medians and other statistical predictions. Even more precise than the interval level is the ratio …show more content…
Variance refers to how far apart the data points are in relation to the mean. It is helpful when calculating the probability of future events. Standard deviation is a measure of how spread out numbers are and we use the variance of data to calculate it. In order to calculate the standard deviation you take the square root of the sample variance. The combination of standard deviation and mean will allow you to know the majority of data sample. It’s important to understand there is a hierarchy in the level of measurement. At lower levels assumptions tend to be less conclusive and data analysis should be used less often. At each level up, the next level includes all of the qualities of the one below and adds something