Giving Compass' Take:

• EdSurge reports on a practice in some classrooms to post "data walls" — usually nameless test results on a big board that everyone can see to track their own progress.

• Are these really useful in motivating kids to do better — or are these walls merely highlighting their flaws, without giving them enough tools to improve? The method is still up for debate.

• Here's how we can create a classroom that supports all types of learners.

At Inkster Preparatory Academy outside Detroit, students track their scores on the high-stakes NWEA Map test on the walls of their classrooms. Their names aren’t on the board — instead they have their own code — but at a glance they can see how well their peers are doing. The practice is known as “data walls,” and is designed to serve as a motivational tool. Students are told that “everyone is working to move their number” even higher, says Demetria Tumpkin, a second grade teacher at the school.

At South Newton Elementary School In Newton, N.C., educator Rebecca Vass, who teaches informational technology with science and social studies integration to fourth graders, uses a data wall so her students can track their progress on a quarterly benchmark assessment the district uses. Scores are color-coded by class, and students’ names aren’t attached to the data (nor do they have a unique code). That allows her to see data trends from one class to another. Vass says typically, her data walls aren’t tied to individual students.

Perform a Google image search for “classroom data walls,” and you’ll see many examples of how teachers are displaying kids’ scores and results in the classroom. As the school year gets back into swing, teachers might be already planning their own student-facing data walls, perhaps with student names attached. However, the practice has its share of critics, who believe publicly displaying results does more harm than good.

Read the full article about why data walls may cause more harm than good by Tina Nazerian at EdSurge.