Finding the Story Behind the Numbers

"A wonderful tool! No educational jargon to weed through. The author meshes the real world with the ideal world and provides a concrete guide for principals to work with their faculty."—Marie Blum, SuperintendentCanaseraga Central School, NY

"Provides insight, evidence, humor, and most important, practical tools every educator and school leader can use. With the wisdom earned through decades of work in schools of every conceivable description, Cox guides us through the belief systems and data analysis, as well as the impact of demographic characteristics, teaching practices, and leadership decisions on student achievement."—Douglas Reeves, ChairmanCenter for Performance Assessment

Focus on program quality—not just test scores—and watch student achievement climb!

In this remarkable book, renowned educational consultant James Cox offers a smarter way to look at data, putting test scores in context, not in isolation. Rather than focusing on last year′s findings for school improvement, educators can learn how to evaluate the processes and practices that lead to those data by using a user-friendly, three-pronged framework for school improvement: teacher quality, program elements, and leadership.

This concise, practical guide offers easy-to-use tools and techniques for schools and districts to evaluate their programs using both quantiative and qualitative data. School leaders will learn to look at data, program evaluation, and school improvement differently and discover how to effectively:

• Define a quality program
• Analyze what is and is not working
• Avoid "test score fatigue"

Packed with worksheets, step-by-step instructions, and an extensive appendix of tools, this book provides readers with a complete improvement plan to put into action today!