“Data Walls”, which display student achievement in relation to others, are said to motivate students. Instead, they often single students out for shame.
“Diving Into Data,” a 2014 paper published jointly by the nonprofit Jobs for the Future and the U.S. Education Department, offers step-by-step instructions for data walls that “encourage student engagement” and “ensure students know the classroom or school improvement goals and provide a path for students to reach those goals.” The assumption is that students will want to take that path — that seeing their scores in relationship to others’ will motivate them to new heights of academic achievement. They are meant to think: “Oh, the green dots show my hard work, yellow means I have more work to do, and red means wow, I really need to buckle down. Now I will pay attention in class and ask questions! I have a plan!”
How efficient it would be if simply publishing our weaknesses galvanized us to learn exactly what we’re lacking. (Source)
Why Shame Doesn’t Work explains how shaming is counterproductive.