Using Statistics to Make Educational Decisions

This is an accessible introduction to statistics written specifically for Education students in the changing educational landscape. Government scrutiny and intensified oversight have dramatically changed the landscape of education in recent years. Observers want to know how schools compare, which district is best, which states are spending the most per student on education, whether reforms are making a difference, and why so many students are failing. Some of these questions require technical answers that educators historically redirected to outside experts, but the questions levelled at all educators have become so acute and persistent that they can no longer be outsourced. This text helps educators develop the tools and the conceptual understanding needed to provide definitive answers to difficult statistical questions facing education today. Using Statistics to Make Educational Decisions is designed to serve as a primary text for undergraduate and graduate-level introductory statistics courses within the field of education. Concise and accessible, it presents a diverse array of education-specific examples and coverage to illuminate the ways in which educators can use statistics for effective decision-making. The integration of measurement concepts makes this text relevant in an age of standardized testing and offers students a preview of more advanced statistical topics.