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

by Creighton, Theodore

• ISBN13: 9780761977162
• ISBN10: 0761977163
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-08-01
• Publisher: Corwin Press

Summary

""""An excellent refresher course or a way to start thinking about how to improve student outcomes." "Jacob O. Stampen, Department of Educational Administration University of Wisconsin-Madison ""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, OH Cut through the statistics maze to improve instructional leadership!Principals and teachers can now learn to maneuver through the myriad of statistical data to help create goals and strategies for change and improvement based on solid findings. Comprehensive but accessible, "Schools and Data "focuses on the relevance of statistics in the day-to-day lives of principals and teachers. This step-by-step, easy-to-follow, easy-to-understand guide to using existing school data can help any school leader facilitate more appropriate and effective decision making. The author provides a less-threatening approach to statistical analysis based on actual school situations. Key areas of exploration include: The role of statistics in the lives of principals and teachers An overview of data with real-life examples Step-by-step procedures for collecting and organizing data Statistical methods for interpreting data Spotting and understanding relationships Both SPSS and GB-STAT software proceduresThe information is presented with easy-to-follow instructions, illustrations, and pertinent examples that educators can readily understand. This is an essential resource for anyeducator who wants to break through the statistical confusion to improve skills in problem analysis, program evaluation, data-driven decision making, and report preparation.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	viii
Preface	xi
Relevance of Statistics to the Lives of Principals and Teachers	xiii
Integration of Recent Technology Into the Teaching and Learning of Statistics	xiii
Statistical Analysis Designed for Educators	xiii
Descriptive and Inferential Statistics	xiv
Acknowledgments	xiv
About the Author	xvi
The Role of Statistics in the Lives of Teachers and Principals	1	(7)
What Is This Thing Called Statistics?	1	(2)
What Are GB-STAT and SPSS?	3	(1)
The Rationale for Using Data to Improve Decision Making in Our Schools	3	(1)
So, What's the Problem?	4	(1)
The Use of Statistics in the Classroom and Principal's Office: A Case Study	5	(1)
Application Activities	6	(2)
Getting Started	8	(10)
What Is Data-Driven Decision Making?	11	(1)
Introduction to SPSS and GB-STAT	11	(3)
Let's Try an Example	14	(1)
Conclusion	15	(1)
Application Activities	16	(2)
Collecting and Organizing Data	18	(9)
Frequency Distribution	19	(1)
Cross-Tabulation	20	(1)
Measures of Central Tendency	21	(2)
Measures of Variability	23	(1)
Conclusion	24	(2)
Application Activities	26	(1)
Introduction to Hypothesis Testing	27	(15)
Z Scores	28	(7)
The t Statistic	35	(1)
One-Sample t Test: An Example	36	(2)
Using GB-STAT and SPSS for the t Test of Hypotheses	38	(2)
Conclusion	40	(1)
Application Activities	40	(2)
The Independent-Samples t Test	42	(12)
A Personal Hypothesis	43	(3)
Using GB-STAT and SPSS for Independent Samples	46	(3)
Okay, Your Turn Now	49	(2)
Break's Over---How Did Ed's Students Do?	51	(1)
Conclusion	51	(1)
Application Activity	52	(2)
Analysis of Variance: The Difference Between Two or More Samples	54	(13)
Advantages of ANOVA Over t Tests	54	(1)
Analysis of Variance	55	(1)
A Couple of New Terms	56	(1)
Components of the ANOVA	57	(1)
The F Distribution	57	(3)
GB-STAT and SPSS to the Rescue---Checking My Calculations	60	(2)
Post Hoc Tests	62	(3)
Conclusion	65	(1)
Application Activities	65	(2)
Analysis of Variance: Repeated Measures	67	(9)
Let's Get Right to an Example	67	(5)
One More Question: Where Does the Difference Lie?	72	(2)
Conclusion	74	(1)
Application Activity	74	(2)
Two-Way Analysis of Variance: Two Independent Variables	76	(10)
Steps for the Two-Way ANOVA	79	(2)
Make a Decision About the Hypotheses	81	(1)
Conclusion	82	(2)
Application Activity	84	(2)
Correlation: My GRE Score Is Not Good Enough for Harvard?	86	(15)
Another Caution	86	(2)
Time Out for Some Statistical Jargon	88	(1)
Back to Our Discussion	88	(1)
Why Would Educators Be Interested in Correlations?	89	(2)
A Junior High School Music Program	91	(2)
GB-STAT and SPSS---Help!	93	(3)
So What Does This Mean for Bob?	96	(1)
Other Data-Driven Decision Making	97	(1)
The Spearman Correlation	98	(1)
Conclusion	98	(2)
Application Activities	100	(1)
Putting It All Together: A Data-Driven Practice Field	101	(20)
Practice and Performance Fields	101	(2)
A Data-Driven Practice Field	103	(1)
Horizon High School	104	(14)
Conclusion	118	(3)
Resource A: The t Distribution	121	(2)
Resource B: The F Distribution	123	(3)
Resource C: Music Correlation	126	(1)
Resource D: Horizon High School Data	127	(6)
References	133	(2)
Index	135