Schools and Data: The Educator's Guide for Using Data to Improve Decision Making

Praise for the First Edition:

"Creighton′s descriptions of the applicability and helpfulness of statistics for educators is especially strong. His use of plain language and school-based examples is crucial."
-Scott McLeod, Assistant Professor
University of Cincinnati

Improve instructional leadership practice with proven, easy-to-understand strategies for data-based decision making!

Since the first edition of Schools and Data, the No Child Left Behind Act has swept the country, and data-based decision making is no longer an option for educators. Today′s educational climate makes it imperative for all schools to collect data and use statistical analysis to help create clear goals and recognize strategies for improvement.

Schools and Data, Second Edition, focuses on the relevance of statistics in the lives of principals and teachers. Real-life examples and step-by-step procedures for collecting and organizing data provide every school leader with the means to facilitate more appropriate and effective decision making. With a highly practical method for statistical analysis, this comprehensive yet reader-friendly new edition places special emphasis on:

• Connecting statistics and educators′ daily work
• Integrating applied technology, including Excel and SPSS software
• Strengthening educators′ data interpretation skills
• Building strong skills in problem analysis, program evaluation, data-driven decision making, and report preparation
• Increasing the focus on correlation and regression

Packed with easy-to-follow instructions, illustrations, and real-world examples that educators can readily understand, this is an essential resource for school leaders who want to create meaningful, data-driven decisions!

*Note: The author created web site that provides information and activities paralleling the individual chapters of the second education of Schools and Data text is NO LONGER AVAILABLE.

Theodore B. Creighton is currently a Professor and Program Leader in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Virginia Tech. Prior to joining the faculty at Virginia Tech, he served as Director of the Center for Research and Doctoral Studies in Educational Leadership at Sam Houston State University and as a Professor in Educational Leadership at Idaho State University. His background includes teaching at all grade levels in Washington, D.C.; Cleveland, Ohio; and Los Angeles, California. His administrative experience includes serving as principal and superintendent in both Fresno and Kern Counties, California. He holds a BS degree in teacher education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a master′s degree in educational administration from California State University Long Beach, and a doctorate from the University of California Davis.

Though active in many professional organizations, he devotes considerable time to his role as Executive Director of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration. He also serves as a member of the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA), and as a Stafford Faculty Fellow for the National Institute on Leadership, Disabilities and Students Placed at Risk (NILDSPAR). He recently was appointed as Project Director of the Connexions Knowledge Base Project, an international initiative in collaboration with Rice University charged with assembling the knowledge base in educational administration. His research includes examining the forces of the school principalship, and he is widely published in the area of schools with alternative forms of school leadership.