When Data Replaced Judgment | Mike Pope + Dr. Jana Lee

When did data become more trustworthy than professional judgment? Mike Pope sits down with Dr. Jana Lee for a wide-ranging conversation about teaching, PLCs, assessment, data, professional judgment, school improvement, accountability, and what happens when systems designed to support teachers begin controlling their work instead. We talk about questions including: Do PLCs actually improve teaching, or can they become another compliance structure? How much useful information does another assessment really give a good teacher? When does “data-driven” become an excuse to distrust professional judgment? Why do we manage teachers differently from professionals in other fields — including coaches? What should schools actually measure if the goal is meaningful improvement? How do we distinguish accountability from simply creating more documentation? Dr. Jana Lee and I do not have to agree on every point. That is the point of the conversation. Ask the question. Listen to the answer. Keep talking. More from Pope Studios: https://pope-studios.com Have something happening in your school or district that deserves a harder question? Tell me where to go: https://pope-studios.com/tips Mike Pope is a former public-school teacher, assistant principal and principal, author of It All Falls on the Kid: The True Cost of Evaluation in American Schools, and founder of Pope Studios.