Practical Statistics for Educators

by Ruth Ravid

Practical Statistics for Educators, 4th edition focuses on the application of research and statistics as applied specifically to education. Since the first edition came out in 1994, thousands of students in educational statistics courses and their professors have found it to be an excellent textbook. Educational practitioners have also appreciated keeping this book on their reference shelf. Now in its fourth edition, this well-regarded text is a clear and easy-to-follow manual for use in introductory statistics or action research courses. Ruth Ravid concentrates on the essential concepts in educational statistics including when to use various statistical tests and how to interpret the results. Testing and test score interpretation, reliability, and validity are included to help students understand these topics which are essential for practitioners in education.

Real-life examples, used generously throughout, are taken from the field of education and presented to illustrate the various concepts and terms. Chapter previews and summaries, as well as a glossary of the main terms and concepts, help readers navigate the book, focus on the most important points, and build upon the knowledge gained from each chapter.

New in this edition are updated and improved graphics, revised and enhanced text, and examples. Lengthy appendixes-tables are deleted and their relevant sections are integrated into the chapters. Detailed and complicated computational steps have also been eliminated.

Genres: Education

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

Reviews

[Catherine Norman]

A little dry. Some errors in the practice problems answer key, which was annoying for a non-stats lover. I'm sure I will refer back to this book, though.

[Leanna Aker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great, conceptual introduction to statistics for educators, and provides a number of concrete examples to illustrate the concepts. The last chapter involves several situations for which you must select the right statistical test or measure. Each chapter has a nice summary of the main points in the chapter as well. Would highly recommend this as a jumping point into statistics.

[Ashley Bostrom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can honestly say that I have a better understanding of statistics after reading this textbook. But Chapter 10: Analysis of Variance could use a serious rewrite. What do sentences like “The mean squares are found by dividing the sum of squares by the appropriate degrees of freedom” even mean??? Some things only make sense as equations.

[Emma Sonck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book required for my Ed.D. program.