What did I do with my pandemic time? I called my friend, veteran school board trustee Jill Wynns, and asked her if she’d like to join me and write a book about the 101 ways that schools’ vital signs are mismeasured and misunderstood. The two of us have spent a total of over 50 years in the school world. So we’ve witnessed a lot of human errors when education leaders try to answer two simple questions: “How’s the district doing?” “How’s our school doing?” We felt it was time to share those stories.
Followers of the “best practices” approach will be surprised. We’ve taken the opposite approach by shedding light on worst practices. Our hunch is that by pointing out semantic slips, goofy math, illogical reasoning and a dozen other forms of human fallibility, that readers will be less likely to repeat those mistakes themselves. Mistakes are learning opportunities far tastier than cookbooks of “best practices.”
Routledge is our publisher. Here’s the catalog entry for Mismeasuring Schools’ Vital Signs: How to Avoid Misunderstanding, Misinterpreting, and Distorting Data. You’ll find endorsements, reviews, the table-of-contents, and more.
Here is our book’s website. You’ll find endorsements, excerpts, the sources we cite, and questions to spark discussion.
If you’re on the faculty of a college or university, teach in an administrative credential program, or lead a principals’ academy, click here to request a review copy.
If you’re a journal or magazine editor, or if you want to write a book review, click here to request a review copy.
And if you want to ask us any questions, or invite us to speak to your book club, or host a webinar for your leadership team or school board retreat, just send me an email: steve.rees@schoolwisepress.com
