Data-Driven Leadership / JB Leadership Library in Education (PDF)

Tools and techniques from the trailblazers in data-based
education reform

Over a period of several years, Amanda Datnow and Vicki Park
visited public schools with a reputation for being ahead of the
pack in data-driven decision making. The results of this pioneering
study reveal how education leaders can make data work for students
and teachers, rather than against them.

This book is an essential guide to meeting the challenges of
high-stakes accountability, building performance-based schools, and
improving student outcomes. By following the advice in this book,
you'll be able to transform data overload into a
data-positive school culture. You'll learn the difference
between "data-driven leadership" and
"data-informed leadership," and how to use distributed
leadership to inspire collaboration and guided analysis.

Incorporating narrative reflections drawn from real educators
and administrators, the authors refine their observations and
interviews into practical conclusions that leaders can put to use
immediately. This book empowers leaders to support inquiry, build
trust in data-based initiatives, establish goals for evidence use,
and provide educators with the skills they need to mobilize data
for the good of all stakeholders.

"Datnow and Park's ideas are easily accessible and
grounded in clear examples, and their seven 'calls'
about what needs to be done nail the problem and the solutions. Use
this book as your action guide and you'll be rewarded with
better results in student learning."

--Michael Fullan, professor emeritus,
University of Toronto

"Datnow and Park uncover, at last, what it means to use
data to inform leadership. Documenting the four P's (people,
policies, practices, and patterns) in schools, we learn about the
organization and dynamics of reform informed by data. A must
read!"

--Ann Lieberman, senior scholar,
Stanford University