Synopses & Reviews
In the wake of the accountability movement, school administrators are inundated with data about their students. How can they use this information to support student achievement?
Data Wise presents a clear and carefully tested blueprint for school leaders. It shows how examining text scores and other classroom data can become a catalyst for important schoolwide conversations that will help schools capture teachers’ knowledge, foster collaboration, identify obstacles to change, enhance school culture and climate, and improve students’ results. The rich experience of the contributors—among them exemplary school leaders and top scholars in the field of statistics and testing—is reflected in the case studies that illustrate each chapter.
“This book provides a great variety of useful ideas and tools for analyzing student achievement data. It serves as an important and significant resource for school leaders in utilizing data to improve instruction and increase student achievement.” — Gerald N. Tirozzi, Executive Director, National Association of Secondary School Principals
“The step-by-step process described in this invaluable book has helped me engage my faculty in lively, frank, and productive discussions about our student assessment results. Now we are able to make the connections between data and instruction in ways that improve teaching and learning systematically throughout the school.” — Janet Palmer Owens, Principal, Mason Pilot School, Boston, Massachusetts.
“A masterful example of what can happen when great scholars confront real-world problems.” — Michael Feuer, Founding Director, Board of Testing and Assessment, National Research Council of the National Academies
Kathryn Parker Boudett teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Elizabeth A. City teaches aspiring principals at Boston’s School Leadership Institute and is currently a doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Richard J. Murnane, an economist, is the Thompson Professor of Education and Society at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Review
“This book provides a great variety of useful ideas and tools for analyzing student achievement data. It serves as an important and significant resource for school leaders in utilizing data to improve instruction and increase student achievement.” — Gerald N. Tirozzi, Executive Director, National Association of Secondary School Principals
Review
“The step-by-step process described in this invaluable book has helped me engage my faculty in lively, frank, and productive discussions about our student assessment results. Now we are able to make the connections between data and instruction in ways that improve teaching and learning systematically throughout the school.” — Janet Palmer Owens, Principal, Mason Pilot School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Review
“A masterful example of what can happen when great scholars confront real-world problems.” — Michael Feuer, Founding Director, Board of Testing and Assessment, National Research Council of the National Academies
Review
“Schools that embrace the Data Wise process exemplify the value that true school transformation happens from within the school, not from outside. Systemic, sustainable improvement in student performance is assured when a school makes Data Wise a part of its culture. From a district perspective, supporting our schools in their work with Data Wise is time well spent.” — Kathy Rollo, executive director, leadership and professional development, Lubbock Independent School District, Texas
Review
"Data Wise is practical and based on experiences in real schools; therefore, it achieves one of its goals of helping school leaders understand how to use student assessments to improve teaching and learning. . . . Data Wise: A Step-by Step Guide to Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching and Learning is a nice contribution to how to get assessment data used by those who are leading and teaching in our schools." — Teachers College Record
Review
"The book is well organized and would serve as a great tool for school and district improvement teams. Of special interest to superintendents is the chapter devoted to the role of the central office in becoming data wise." — School Administrator
Review
"For any team of educators needing to implement a coherent instructional plan, to identify the learning needs of every student, and to meet those needs, this book will be very helpful. The reviewer believes that if the goal of a school is to review student assessment results to improve teaching and learning, following this book would be beneficial." — Education Review
Synopsis
Data Wise, Revised and Expanded Edition presents a continuous, sustainable process that allows school leaders to harness classroom metrics to inform educational practice. At its core, the Data Wise method fosters effective collaboration among educators, enabling teams to study a wide range of evidence and then use what they learn to enrich school culture and climate and ensure that each student thrives.
Kathryn Parker Boudett, Elizabeth A. City, and Richard J. Murnane offer clear guidance for enacting all stages of the Data Wise improvement process and for integrating data inquiry into long-term institutional practice. They begin with actions that lay the groundwork for collaboration: advancing assessment literacy among contributors, building productive professional learning communities, and identifying targets for change. They continue with advice on evaluating progress and boosting accountability.
Throughout the book, the authors recommend practical tools and proven practices, such as the plus/delta protocol and the ACE Habits of Mind (focusing on action, collaboration, and evidence), that help school leaders optimize the quality of meetings, especially those in which educators analyze data. They also provide tips for how to make best use of developments in education and technology, from Common Core State Standards to online collaboration tools.
The field-tested strategies of the Data Wise improvement process have been used to great success in schools around the world, showing that careful examination of test scores, classroom data, and other educational evaluations can become a catalyst for important schoolwide conversations and transformations.
Synopsis
Data Wise is a proven process for collecting and using big data in schools. This book provides a blueprint schools can use to initiate school-wide conversations about these data and make better decisions to enhance school culture and climate.
Synopsis
Data Wise: A Step-by-Step Guide to Using Assessment Results to Improve Teaching and Learning presents a clear and carefully tested blueprint for school leaders. It shows how examining test scores and other classroom data can become a catalyst for important schoolwide conversations that will enhance schools’ abilities to capture teachers’ knowledge, foster collaboration, identify obstacles to change, and enhance school culture and climate.
This revised and expanded edition captures the learning that has emerged in integrating the Data Wise process into school practice and brings the book up-to-date with recent developments in education and technology including:
- The shift to the Common Core State Standards.
- New material on the “ACE Habits of Mind”: practices that prioritize Action, Collaboration, and Evidence as part of transforming school culture.
- A new chapter on “How We Improve,” based on experiences implementing Data Wise and to address two common questions: “Where do I start?” and “How long will it take?”
Other revisions take into account changes in the roles of school data teams and instructional leadership teams in guiding the inquiry process. The authors have also updated exhibits, examples, and terminology throughout and have added new protocols and resources.
About the Author
Kathryn Parker Boudett teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Elizabeth A. City teaches aspiring principals at Boston’s School Leadership Institute and is currently a doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Richard J. Murnane, an economist, is the Thompson Professor of Education and Society at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.