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| Introduction | |
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| Why You Need a Book Like This | |
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| Principles of Data Interpretation, or, How to Keep From Getting Statistically Snookered | |
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| Beware of Averages | |
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| Follow the Money | |
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| Beware of the Uncritical Acceptance of Convenient Conclusions | |
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| Watch for Selectivity in the Data | |
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| Show Me the Data! | |
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| Beware of Nostalgia | |
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| Beware of Causal Explanations from Correlational Data | |
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| Be Aware of Whether or Not the Statistics Used Are Numbers or Rates (Percentages) | |
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| Know Whether You're Dealing with Ranks or Scores | |
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| Make Sure That the Statistic Used Is the Right One | |
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| Ask How the Variable Is Defined | |
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| Ask How the Variable Is Defined, and Then Ask What the Criterion Measure Is | |
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| Differentiate Practical and Statistical Significance | |
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| Look for Trends, Not Snapshots | |
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| Beware of Trends | |
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| Ask What the Consequences Are Even if the Interpretation of the Data Is True | |
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| Beware of Changing Demographics | |
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| Try to 'See Through' Graphs | |
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| Beware of Big (Small) Numbers | |
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| Beware of Generalizations | |
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| Aspects of Achievement | |
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| The Rise of Testing | |
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| Types of Tests | |
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| Other Indicators of Achievement | |
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| Handling the Tough Questions | |
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| How Come American Students Fall Farther behind Their International Peers the Longer They Stay in School? | |
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| Why Are Test Scores Falling? | |
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| How Come Private Schools Do So Much Better Than Public Schools? | |
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| Why Don't We Have Vouchers So That the Money Could Follow the Child? | |
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| Why Don't We Use Charter Schools as Laboratories for Innovation for the Rest of the System? | |
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| Why Are We Throwing Money at the Schools? | |
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| Why Are SAT Scores Still Falling? | |
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| Why Don't Bright People Go into Teaching? | |
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| With All the Talk about Standards and Accountability, Why Aren't Teachers and Principals Held Accountable? | |