Educators' Responses to Methods of Collecting, Storing, and Analyzing Behavioral Data

Abstract

The methods of collecting, storing, and analyzing behavioral data have proven cumbersome and inadequate in the modem educational setting. Teachers and others consistently report their dissatisfaction with current methods, which do not allow large amounts of data to be collected quickly and which make valid analysis difficult We are using a “horse and buggy” approach in a modern world of electronic technology. This paper summarizes the findings of a survey given in November, 1982, to regular and special education teachers in five districts in Utah and Idaho. The survey pertained to methods of collecting, storing, and analyzing data on children in an educational setting. The paper recommends solutions to the problems of time and complexity that limit the usefulness of current methods.