Beyond the Numbers, 2nd Edition, has been updated to include lessons learned from school systems that routinely break the mold, closing achievement gaps for second-language learners in Ontario, Canada, and California, seeing IEP students compete with their peers on state assessments in Virginia, Connecticut, and Nebraska, and eliminating the achievement gaps for African Americans in Indiana, Minnesota, and Colorado.

Building on its powerful and comprehensive scoring guide for data analysis, this 2nd Edition is arriving none too soon to address the exciting opportunities and challenges facing educators today, including the Common Core State Standards, new assessment systems designed to improve instruction as much as accountability, value-added student growth models, and the evaluation of teacher effectiveness in terms of student achievement gains. The 2nd Edition establishes the principles and components of data analysis needed to produce gains that can be sustained, prepares school and district data systems to accommodate data requirements of Race to the Top, and provides sound, proven data analysis tools to get beyond the numbers to specify with precision the teaching, leading, and learning behaviors that contribute to improved student achievement. The result of decades of public education experience and a growing belief in the ability of educators to make wise decisions when presented with very imperfect data, Beyond the Numbers will continue to help educators apply their collective wisdom and professional judgment through proven, established components delineated in each chapter.

Today’s educators will find the foundation presented in the 1st Edition particularly valuable and timely for today, and a fresh look at triangulation, replication, and expertise will offer additional insights needed to meet today’s challenges.