college & university
What Metrics Can (and Cannot) Tell Us Laura Dunbar, WMEA State Chair, College & University
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a met- ric is “a standard of measurement.” Metrics are a con- stant in any career despite this simple definition. We complete surveys
to show our level of satisfaction with service provided. Test scores are regularly reported to parents and other stakeholders. Budgets are planned, spent and balanced using metrics to determine if money is be- ing used effectively and according to plan. A metric that has been a concern in higher education is return on investment (ROI). ROI is a financial metric that is being used to describe the cost of a college degree versus lifetime earnings. Unsurprisingly, the ROI for those becoming teachers is not on the list of degrees with a high ROI (Hanson, 2026). Although metrics often use numbers, the interpretation is not as concrete as could be perceived.
What Metrics Are
One of the first things I learned in the Tests and Measurements course I took during my doctoral work is that all measurements have two parts: the actual number (which we do not typically know but are trying to estimate) and error. The challenge with anything reported as a metric is that the information is often reported as a number. People are typically comfortable with num- bers and see them as concrete or indisput- able information rather than seeing them as being a measurement. In addition, a single metric cannot tell the entire story because situations they are measuring are typically complex. For example, ask a teacher about their students’ test scores. A low test score is often followed by an explanation of the why of that metric due to things happening in the student’s life. Teachers know the story is more complex; the metric does not “care.” The lack of context contributes to error, as the information provided by the test score is incomplete at best.
The challenge is that metrics do measure things in some way. Those metrics are often
used because they are consistent in mea- suring the construct being measured. The student with the low test score in reading likely does struggle with reading. However, the complex picture may also involve cog- nitive or developmental differences such as dyslexia. The student may not have the stamina to read the amount of text that is in the test that was administered. Perhaps the student struggled with test anxiety and was unable to complete the test. The paradox in this situation is that the test score does likely align with the student’s reading abil- ity even though we know that the score does not actually provide valuable information about the student as a person or how the student learns. The measurement of that student with that reading test is just that: one measurement in a sea of information. Meanwhile, if the focus of teaching this student to read is more about taking the mandated tests rather than fostering a love of reading, the likelihood of improvement of the student’s ability to read over time is very unlikely.
The Paradox of Metrics Recommend a State Presentation for a NAfME Professional Learning Webinar
Each year there are hundreds of wonderful presentations across all the state music education association (MEA) conferences. If you see a great session at your MEA conference that you think would add innovative perspectives and ideas for a NAfME webinar and the NAfME Academy®
, let us know!
NAfME’s Professional Learning Programming Committee (PLPC) wants to hear from you. Take a moment to share your topic and/or presentation recommendation by filling out a very brief survey. All webinar proposals to NAfME are reviewed by the PLPC. If approved, some programs are selected for live/recorded events; some are recorded-only programs. Take the survey:
bit.ly/PLPCStatePresenters
Also, year-round NAfME members can submit a webinar proposal to the PLPC. Learn more:
bit.ly/PLPCWebinarProposals
The barrage of metrics we experience daily may give onlookers the idea that they know what is happening because they see the numbers. The challenge is that the metric may measure what it is intended to mea- sure while still lacking context. Context is needed to determine what indicators could help determine progress while understand- ing that progress is not linear. In addition, there are dimensions of any construct that are unmeasurable. Metrics may even contradict. For example, those who major in education and the arts have lower ROI than those in management and finance, but both are in the top 15 of the most versatile college majors because graduates trained in those areas initially were able to get jobs in other fields. Majors in the social sciences and humanities “gained skills that can be used across multiple industries” with versatility being “one of the biggest competitive advantages for new graduates” (Connley-Hampton, 2026). In the current job market, it sounds like a degree in the
30 September 2026
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