The chief executive officer of a corporation is not much different from a public school administrator. While CEOs base many of their decisions on data, for school administrators, this type of research may conjure up miserable memories of searching for information to meet a graduate school requirement. However, the value of data-based decision making will continue to escalate and the school community—students, teachers, parents and the general public—expect this information to come from their administrators. Administrators are called on to be accountable, but few are capable of presenting the mountain of data that they collect in a cohesive and strategic manner. Most statistical books are focused on statistical theory versus application, but Statistics Made Simple for School Leaders presents statistics in a simple, practical, conceptual, and immediately applicable manner. It enables administrators to take their data and manage it into strategic information so the results can be used for action plans that benefit the school system. The approach is 'user friendly' and leaves the reader with a confident can-do attitude to communicate results and plans to staff and the community.

School leaders come in many forms - superintendents, principals and other building leaders, department heads, Board of Education members, heads of the Parent Teacher organizations, teachers’ union representatives, state and federal agency heads, and others. As leaders they are expected to make wise, expeditious and knowledgeable decisions. It is not acceptable to speculate and base decisions on qualitative input. Hard data is regarded as elementary to a school leader’s toolbox, and expertise with data is expected. This expectation will only intensify with the advent of social media, increased data accessibility, sophisticated technology and astute consumers of education. Statistics can make data-based decision-making efficient and ultimately support school leaders with the most critical task – accurately interpreting what is discovered. Why not make statistics your most potent tool? Statistics Made Simple for School Leaders: A New Approach for Using Student, Staff and Community Data can help. This book serves as a handbook for school leaders. With this book, they can confidently and successfully execute data-based decisions to the benefit of their schools, students, staff and community.

The latest book from best-selling author Victoria L. Bernhardt is an easy-to-read primer that describes what it takes to achieve student learning growth at every grade level, in every subject area, and with every student group.

This indispensable practitioner's guide helps to build the capacity of school psychologists, administrators, and teachers to use data in collaborative decision making. It presents an applied, step-by-step approach for creating and running effective data teams within a problem-solving framework. The authors describe innovative ways to improve academic and behavioral outcomes at the individual, class, grade, school, and district levels. Applications of readily available technology tools are highlighted. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes learning activities and helpful reproducible forms. The companion website provides downloadable copies of the reproducible forms as well as Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint slides, and an online-only chapter on characteristics of effective teams. This book is in The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series, edited by Sandra M. Chafouleas.

Long overdue, Beyond the Numbers is one of the first books to really examine the process of data analysis for practitioners. Educators facing the implementation of No Child Left Behind will find Dr. White's insights to be a practical approach.

Offers a practical guide for improving schools dramatically that will enable all students from all backgrounds to achieve at high levels. Includes assessment forms, an index, and a DVD.

Turn skepticism about data into knowledge for true educational reform! More versatile than mere number crunching and statistics, data can be an effective tool—or even a powerful catalyst—for change within a school. By replacing cynicism with conviction, learning to harness data′s power, and becoming good users of data to positively impact student achievement, school leaders can develop three crucial capacities: an inquiry habit of mind, data literacy, and a culture of inquiry. Lorna M. Earl and Steven Katz show educators how to become comfortable with data, and provide valuable tools for school improvement teams to use in their work, including: Vignettes to support group discussion Activities for practicing the ideas and concepts in the book Task sheets Short case studies with actual school data that show how the full process works in a school To improve schools, data can and should be a vital force in the change process. Using this essential resource, school leaders, school teams, study groups, and students of education can all make sense of data to plan and reform for maximum benefit.