Concerns are mounting ahead of Thursday’s interstate education minister conference in Berlin, as the German Association of Teachers of Humanities (DPH) warns that ambitious plans for data-driven school development and the establishment of a “student ID” risk burdening teachers with unnecessary administrative tasks without delivering tangible benefits for individual students.
Susanne Lin-Klitzing, chairwoman of the DPH, voiced strong reservations in an interview with “Welt”, stating that centralized data collection should not become an end in itself. She emphasized that any application of data must be inextricably linked to practical and actionable proposals for targeted support measures that demonstrably impact student outcomes. Currently, the association fears that data utilization risks being treated as an exercise in creativity for teachers, diverting attention from core pedagogical responsibilities.
The DPH’s critique extends beyond workload concerns, questioning the broader strategic direction of data-driven education policy. They argue that the role of state education ministries shouldn’t solely revolve around the relentless acquisition of data, leading to an accumulation of learning assessments and student performance records. Instead, ministries should prioritize providing schools with a carefully considered suite of tools – emphasizing data minimization and user-orientation – that educators can directly utilize to support student development.
Crucially, the association highlights a need for clarity regarding the “political and legal framework” surrounding the proposed “student ID” system – a digital repository of anonymized student biographies. This raises questions about data privacy, security and the potential for misuse, demanding careful scrutiny before implementation.
Ultimately, the DPH insists that the objective of data-driven school development must be to enhance student performance. This requires a shift away from simply gathering data toward developing and providing educators with empirically-backed support formats that directly contribute to targeted and individualized learning interventions for every student. The risk, as currently envisioned, is that the pursuit of data becomes a distraction from the core mission of education: improving outcomes for all learners.