To the Editor:
The article “Data Literacy Skills Seen as Key for Success in the Age of AI” (Aug. 11, 2026) highlights an important gap in education today: Parents and educators value data literacy, but many students lack opportunities to develop it.
Closing this gap requires students to practice making sense of the many forms of data that surround us. In my current work as a principal research scientist at Education Development Center, a global nonprofit, “data sense” is considered an essential skill underpinning data and AI literacy. It’s the ability to pause over information and judge its strengths and limitations. This ability is not innate, but it can be taught and honed through continual practice and it matters more than ever. Students are encountering AI-generated information and must learn what AI does well and where it falls short. Unfortunately, many educators don’t feel prepared for this work.
Our Data Paths project tries to equip Massachusetts teachers for this role. Classroom data routines and standards-alignment resources help teachers integrate fundamental data practices into existing curricula across disciplines, giving students repeated opportunities to make sense of data, use evidence, and develop sound reasoning.
Schools should take care not to confine data literacy to a single course or subject. Students need foundations in data and AI literacy to navigate this world.
Josephine Louie
Principal Research Scientist
Education Development Center
Waltham, Mass.
