Understanding Test and Exam Results Statistically: An Essential Guide for Teachers and School Leaders (Springer Texts in Education)

This book shares the goal of the classic text __How to Lie with Statistics__, namely, preventing and correcting statistical misconceptions that are common among practitioners, though its focus is on the educational context. It illustrates and discusses the essentials of educational statistics that will help educational practitioners to do this part of their job properly, i.e., without making conceptual mistakes. The examples are cast in the school/classroom contexts, based on realistic rather than theoretical examples. “The strongest aspect of the work or author’s view is that the author can put himself in the shoes of teachers and make the work a very practical guide for teachers and school leaders. As a very experienced educator and researcher, the author knows very well about the knowledge skills that are essential for the professional development of teachers. He is able to explain the statistical and measurement concepts in plain language and with examples that are highly relevant to the target audience. In addition, the author also conveyed an important message to the target audience throughout the work... by pointing out the mistakes and misunderstandings of the interpretation of test scores and measurement design. The author reminds the audience about the importance of proper use of tests and test scores when teachers and school leaders make any education decisions, which has much implication on the professional integrity of teachers and school leaders.” Dr. Joyce Kwan, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong “This book covers all the statistical tools for analyzing educational data and provides examples to explain the ideas. Chapters 10-17 are practical data analysis in educational data that helps readers have a better understanding of the procedure to analyze the data.” Dr. Alpha Ling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong “It looks like a very interesting book with attractive topics and practical problems in educational statistics. Though the topics remind me of the classic book How to Lie with Statistics, this book aims at preventing and correcting statistical misconceptions in educational context.” Dr. Zhu Ying, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore This book shares the goal of the classic text How to Lie with Statistics, namely, preventing and correcting statistical misconceptions that are common among practitioners, though its focus is on the educational context. It illustrates and discusses the essentials of educational statistics that will help educational practitioners to do this part of their job properly, i.e., without making conceptual mistakes. The examples are cast in the school/classroom contexts, based on realistic rather than theoretical examples. zThe strongest aspect of the work or author's view is that the author can put himself in the shoes of teachers and make the work a very practical guide for teachers and school leaders. As a very experienced educator and researcher, the author knows very well about the knowledge skills that are essential for the professional development of teachers. He is able to explain the statistical and measurement concepts in plain language and with examples that are highly relevant to the target audience. In addition, the author also conveyed an important message to the target audience throughout the work ... by pointing out the mistakes and misunderstandings of the interpretation of test scores and measurement design. The author reminds the audience about the importance of proper use of tests and test scores when teachers and school leaders make any education decisions, which has much implication on the professional integrity of teachers and school leaders.y Dr. Joyce Kwan, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong zThis book covers all the statistical tools for analyzing educational data and provides examples to explain the ideas. Chapters 10-17 are practical data analysis in educational data that helps readers have a better understanding of the procedure to analyze the data.y Dr. Alpha Ling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong zIt looks like a very interesting book with attractive topics and practical problems in educational statistics. Though the topics remind me of the classic book How to Lie with Statistics, this book aims at preventing and correcting statistical misconceptions in educational context.y Dr. Zhu Ying, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Front Matter....Pages 1-1 On Average: How Good Are They?....Pages 3-8 On Percentage: How Much Are There?....Pages 9-13 On Standard Deviation: How Different Are They?....Pages 15-23 On Difference: Is that Big Enough?....Pages 25-33 On Correlation: What Is Between Them?....Pages 35-45 On Regression: How Much Does It Depend?....Pages 47-50 On Multiple Regression: What Is the Future?....Pages 51-56 On Ranking: Who Is the Fairest of Them All?....Pages 57-63 On Association: Are They Independent?....Pages 65-71 Front Matter....Pages 73-73 On Measurement Error: How Much Can We Trust Test Scores?....Pages 75-81 On Grades and Marks: How not to Get Confused?....Pages 83-89 On Tests: How Well Do They Serve?....Pages 91-96 On Item-Analysis: How Effective Are the Items?....Pages 97-103 On Reliability: Are the Scores Stable?....Pages 105-110 On Validity: Are the Scores Relevant?....Pages 111-116 On Consequences: What Happens to the Students, Teachers, and Curriculum?....Pages 117-124 On Above-Level Testing: What’s Right and Wrong with It?....Pages 125-132 On Fairness: Are Your Tests and Examinations Fair?....Pages 133-139 Back Matter....Pages 141-155 This book shares the goal of the classic text How to Lie with Statistics, namely, preventing and correcting statistical misconceptions that are common among practitioners, though its focus is on the educational context. It illustrates and discusses the essentials of educational statistics that will help educational practitioners to do this part of their job properly, i.e., without making conceptual mistakes. The examples are cast in the school/classroom contexts, based on realistic rather than theoretical examples. It is a practical guide for teachers and school leaders. The author explains the statistical and measurement concepts in plain language and with examples that are relevant to the target audience. He also points out the mistakes and misunderstandings of the interpretation of test scores and measurement design. The book covers all the statistical tools for analyzing educational data and provides examples to explain the ideas. Chapters 10-17 comprise practical data analysis in educational data. [Publisher website, ed]