The monitoring of data within educational institutions is essential to ensure the success of its students and faculty. By continually analyzing data, educational leaders can increase quality and productivity in their institutions. Data Leadership for K-12 Schools in a Time of Accountability explores techniques and processes of educational data analysis and its application in developing solutions and systems for instructional concerns and next-generation learning. Providing extensive research covering areas such as data-driven culture, student accountability, and data dissemination, this unique reference is essential for principals, administrators, practitioners, academicians, students, and educational consultants looking to maximize their institution’s performance.

The purpose of this publication is to provide school leaders and other educators with insight into practical uses of data and how to create school cultures conducive to effective data use. Practicing school leaders can benefit from this publication as well as teachers who use data in their classrooms to drive instruction. Another use of this book is for graduate schools that prepare K-12 school leaders. Because of accountability and the importance of data use in schools, data driven decisions and the effective use of data are critical. In A Guide to Data-Driven Leadership in Modern Schools, the use of data as aligned to educational reform is discussed. Accountability and standardized testing are vital elements of reform. The culture must be created in schools to address multi- facets of data use which is presented in Chapter 2 of the publication. The use of data should guide/inform decisions linked to both management and instruction in schools. In Chapter 3, the use of data to inform management is discussed; and the use of data to inform instruction is presented in Chapter 4. Practices of effective management and instructional leadership are obsolete without effective personnel in schools. The use of data in personnel evaluations is explored in Chapter 5.

Our fourth book in the International Research on School Leadership series focuses on school leadership in an era of high stakes accountability. Fueled by sweeping federal education accountability reforms, such as the United States’ No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Race to the Top (R2T) and Australia’s Performance Measurement and Reporting Taskforce, school systems around the world are being forced to increase academic standards, participate in high-stakes testing, and raise evaluation standards for teachers and principals. These results-driven reforms are intended to hold educators “accountable for student learning and accountable to the public” (Anderson, 2005, p. 2, emphasis in original). While policymakers and the public debate the merits of student achievement accountability measures, P-12 educational leaders do not have the luxury to wait for clear guidance and resources to improve their schools and operating systems. Instead, successful leaders must balance the need to create learning communities, manage the organizational climate, and encourage community involvement with the consequences testing has on teacher morale and public scrutiny. The chapters in this volume clearly indicate that as school leaders attend to these potentially competing forces, this affects their problem-solving strategies, ability to facilitate change, and encourage community involvement. We were delighted with the responses from colleagues around the world who were eager to share their research dealing with how leaders are functioning effectively within a high-accountability environment. The nine chapters in this volume provide empirical evidence of the strategies school leaders use to cope with problems and negotiate external demands while improving student performance. In particular, the voices and actions of principals, superintendents, and school board members are captured in a blend of quantitative and qualitative studies. The breadth of studies is impressive, ranging from case studies of individual principals to cross-district comparisons to national data from the National Center for Education Statistics. To highlight important findings, we have organized the book into five sections. The first section (Chapters 2, 3, and 4) highlights the problem-solving strategies used by principals and superintendents when pressured to turn around low-performing schools. In the second section (Chapters 5 and 6), attention is devoted to ways in which school leaders act as “buffers” by reducing the impact of external demands within their local school contexts. Next, Chapters 7 and 8 explore creative ways in which financial analyses can be used to assess the cost effectiveness of programs and services. Chapters 9 and 10 examine how principals enact their instructional leadership roles in managing curriculum reforms and evaluating teachers. Finally, in the last section (Chapter 11), Kenneth Leithwood synthesizes the major themes and ideas emerging across these chapters, paying particular attention to practical issues influencing school leaders in this era of school reform and accountability as well as promising areas for future research.

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

Education has faced massive changes in recent years and is currently undergoing even more radical developments, especially with the shift towards using digital technologies and tools in the classroom. In addition, the introduction of many new nontraditional strategies for learning has changed the face of education. Within higher education specifically, adult learners have seen a rise in these changes and must adapt to the new strategies at hand. Similarly, adult educators must cope with these new instructional strategies to create optimal learning environments and classrooms that promote success for adult learners. With the need for educators to be aware of these new digital advancements and teaching strategies, it is vital for outcome-based learning to be studied in the context of incorporating educational technologies and new learning techniques. Strategies and Digital Advances for Outcome-Based Adult Learning discusses the latest advancements in adult learning as well as learning assessments to identify adult learner success. It adds to the pertinent research with an update of new information, tools, tips, and techniques for working with the adult learner in the modern educational environment. By highlighting a broad range of topics such as instructional design, experiential learning, formative assessments, competency-based education, and more, this book is ideally designed for teachers, administrators, curriculum developers, instructional designers, academicians, educational professionals, researchers, and upper-level students seeking current research on instructional design and outcome-based learning for adult learners.

There is a clear tendency to consider the errors committed by learners in the process of learning a foreign language not as a negative aspect but as a natural process in the development of their language skills. In the past, teachers and researchers pondered these errors as something unfavorable, something to prevent from occurring at all costs. In order to regulate this appearance of errors, many researchers in the field of foreign language technical teaching have started to study and track the errors made by these students. Knowing the most common types of errors is an important and necessary step to inform teachers about where to direct their efforts regarding the most problematic areas students face while producing their technical writing assignments in a foreign language. Cases on Error Analysis in Foreign Language Technical Writing provides relevant theoretical foundations and the latest empirical research findings in the area of error analysis in foreign language technical writing. This book also summarizes the experience of teaching a foreign language for professional purposes in various fields of higher education. Covering topics such as error analysis, lexical skills, and writing outputs, this casebook is an essential resource for preservice teachers, educators, administrators, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

The world of writing is in constant flux, presenting a challenge to aspiring writers and educators alike. From the rapid evolution of digital platforms to the complex demands of diverse writing fields, staying ahead has never been more critical. Many academic scholars and institutions find it increasingly challenging to equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to navigate this shifting landscape successfully. Graduates are often left ill-prepared to thrive in the competitive, dynamic field of professional writing. Best Practices to Prepare Writers for Their Professional Paths addresses the pressing issue head-on. This book serves as the definitive solution for educators, academic scholars, and anyone invested in nurturing the next generation of writers. This comprehensive resource compiles a wealth of research, industry best practices, and real-world experience, ensuring that readers emerge with the proficiency and confidence needed to excel in their chosen writing domains.