Leading With Data

Ellen B. Goldring is professor of education policy and leadership at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, where she won the Alexander Heard Distinguished Professor award. Her areas of expertise and research focus on improving schools, with particular attention to educational leadership and access and equity in schools of choice. She is the immediate past coeditor of Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. She serves on numerous editorial boards, technical panels, and policy forums, and is the coauthor of three books, including Principals of Dynamic Schools (Corwin Press), as well as hundreds of book chapters and articles. Goldring is currently working on a project funded by the Wallace Foundation to develop and field-test an education leadership assessment system and establish its psychometric properties. She is also conducting experiments to study professional development and performance feedback for school leaders. She is an investigator at the National Center on School Choice and the Learning Sciences Institute at Vanderbilt. Goldring received her PhD from the University of Chicago. Mark Berends is the Hackett Family Director of the Institute for Educational Initiatives at the University of Notre Dame. He is also a professor of sociology and directs the Center for Research on Educational Opportunity (CREO). He has written and published extensively on educational reform, school choice, the effects of family and school changes on student achievement trends and gaps, and the effects of schools and classrooms on student outcomes. His research focuses on how school organization and classroom instruction are related to student development, with special attention to underserved students and school reforms aimed at reducing educational inequalities. Within this agenda, he has applied a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods to understanding the effects of school reforms on students, teachers, and schools.

Acknowledgments About the Authors Introduction by Willis D. Hawley and E. Joseph Schneider 1. The Importance of Data-Based Decision Making 2. Leading Successful Schools With Data: Pathways to School Improvement 3. The Steps in Data-Based Decision Making: Linking Data to Mission and Goals 4. Using Standardized Achievement Data for School Improvement Planning: Measuring Achievement Outcomes 5. Using Formative Assessments to Improve Instruction 6. Multiple Measures for Pathways to School Improvement 7. Involving the Community in Data-Based Decision Making 8. Analyzing Data for School Improvement 9. Seeking Solutions: Evidence-Based Decisions and Processes 10. Leading With Data for Continuous School Improvement Index

"Goldring and Berends provide practical and strategic counsel on what data should be collected, how data can be productively analyzed, and who should be involved. Their book positions this advice deftly in research on leadership and organizational change. As school leaders confront the challenges of meeting the needs of all students through continuous school improvement, they will find this book an essential resource." -- Willis D. Hawley, Professor of Education and Public Policy "Dives headfirst into the murky waters of data and provides the site administrator with a clear, succinct view and practical ideas to obtain the real positive change in student outcomes desired by all." -- Cathy Patterson, Elementary Learning Specialist "Truly a magnificent piece of work! The discussion questions are ideal for study groups and team meetings. This is the new administrator's bible. Keep it by your bedside, especially when the scores come in." -- Roxanne Cardona, Principal "The book covers a complex process, connects it to the requirements of NCLB, and defines many aspects of data analysis so that a lay person can understand it." -- Margarete Couture, Principal