Data. Does the word make you cringe? Does it evoke feelings of guilt? Are you unsure how to distill it and use it effectively? Grab this book and learn how to empower yourself and your school community with information gleaned from your school's data. Experienced educators and authors offer simple instructions that can help focus school improvement efforts and result in increasing teacher expertise--a factor that positively affects the quality of life for students long after they have left the classroom. Accepting responsibility for such far-reaching influence requires educators to adopt instructional improvement as a standard by which a school needs to operate and as a means to collaborate and interact with one another. More than that, though, instructional improvement is an important component of successful schools. Learn how to improve instruction by * Collecting the right data--the right way. * Incorporating relevant data into everyone's daily life. * Resisting the impulse to set brand-new goals every year. * Never settling for "good enough." * Anticipating changes--big and small, local and federal. * Collaborating and avoiding privatized practice. * Involving all stakeholders in identifying problems, setting goals, and analyzing data. * Agreeing on what constitutes high-quality instruction and feedback. The challenge is to understand that data--not intuition or anecdotal reports--are tools to be used in getting better at teaching students. And teaching students effectively is what schools are all about. Following the guidance in this book, overcome uncertainty and concerns about data as you learn to collect and analyze both soft and hard data and use their secrets for instructional improvement in your school.

"Gathering data and using it to inform instruction is a requirement for many schools, yet educators are not necessarily formally trained in how to do it. This book helps bridge the gap between classroom practice and the principles of educational psychology. Teachers will find cutting-edge advances in research and theory on human learning and teaching in an easily understood and transferable format. The text's integrated model shows teachers, school leaders, and district administrators how to establish a data culture and transform quantitative and qualitative data into actionable knowledge based on: assessment; statistics; instructional and differentiated psychology; classroom management."--Publisher's description.

Overcome uncertainty and concerns as you and your colleagues learn how to analyze and use data to get better at teaching students.

Leading for Instructional Improvement Educational experts agree that quality teaching is the single most important factor in improving educational outcomes for all students. Teaching is a highly sophisticated and complex endeavor requiring deep expertise on the part of teachers and school leaders. This book shows how teacher, school, and district leaders can cultivate the expertise of teachers to deliver high quality instruction for all students. Leading for Instructional Improvement captures the nationally acclaimed work conducted by the Center for Educational Leadership at the University of Washington in its effort to improve the quality of teaching and leadership in schools across the country. The book provides extensive practical guidance grounded in theory and research, along with powerful stories and examples from classrooms, schools, and districts. Many of the tools, protocols, and frameworks contained in this book can be accessed electronically by visiting the Center for Educational Leadership website at www.k-12leadership.org. Praise for Leading for Instructional Improvement "This book offers insights that are invaluable to educators who seek to enhance teacher effectiveness now. The ideas presented are practical and applicable to schools in a variety of settings." PEDRO A. NOGUERA, Ph.D., Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Development and executive director, Metropolitan Center for Urban Education "A deep and thoughtful look at how the issue of expertise is cultivated. Seizing upon their Center's research-based instructional framework, the authors provide important insights and tools." DR. BEVERLY HALL, superintendent, Atlanta Public Schools "In this age of intense focus on how we evaluate teachers, we have to remember that any evaluation is only as good as the evaluator. This extremely useful book provides an excellent roadmap for how principals can become more effective in the most important aspect of their work, instructional leadership." JERRY D. WEAST, Ed.D., superintendent of schools, Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland "Fink and Markholt offer practitioners a guide to effective teaching. Leading for Instructional Improvement asks us to heed the lessons within and support the kind of teacher education that will improve student achievement for today's schools and those of tomorrow." BARNETT BERRY, president, Center for Teaching Quality

Build the bridge from data collection to improved instruction Students are people—not data. How can you use assessment data to focus on reaching every student? This book shows how to develop a common language for sharing all students’ progress with all teachers and leaders, and how to use ongoing assessment to inform instruction. Based on worldwide research of more than 500 educators, the book presents solutions organized by: Assessment Instruction Leadership Ownership The many benefits of personalizing data include increased student engagement and a positive impact on school culture. This reader-friendly guide helps you set goals, adjust lessons, identify students’ strengths and weaknesses, and implement interventions.

"This accessible book presents research-based strategies for supporting K-8 students with high-incidence disabilities in becoming accomplished learners. The authors clearly describe the core components of effective inclusive instruction, showing how to recognize and respond to individual students' needs quickly and appropriately. Teachers are provided with essential tools for managing inclusive classrooms; planning a curriculum that fosters concept development across content areas, promotes strategic learning, and builds fluent skill use; and integrating technology into instruction. Case examples illustrate ways that special and general education teachers can work together successfully to solve complex learning problems and improve outcomes for students who are struggling"-- Provided by publisher.

Extant literature on evidence-based instructional strategies mediated by elementary and secondary school leaders is surprisingly scant. Seeking to fill the gap, the editors of this book have curated the research and craft knowledge of eminent and emergent practitioner scholars who collectively provide a starting place for aspiring and practicing principals. Each author builds on research-based instructional practice in schools and districts in which they have worked, either as principals or as school-university or service-provider partners. They provide examples, action plans, frameworks, lessons learned, and strategies to successfully develop and implement research- based instruction and supporting structures in schools and classrooms. University principal-preparation program planners, public school district leaders, and alternative leadership- preparation providers will find this book eminently useful. Similarly, members of National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Middle School Association, National Association of Secondary School Principals, University Council of Educational Administration Leadership for School Improvement Special Interest Group, Learning and Teaching in Educational Leadership Special Interest Group, and American Education Researchers Association Division A will find relevance to their work.