Putting FACES on the Data

A superb book. Full to the brim of practical, workable ideas. Sharratt and Fullan exude love and compassion for all students everywhere, reinforcing that they all deserve the best educational experience, irrespective of circumstance or context. It also reminds us to look at faces first, data second, in the pursuit of achievement for all.  Powerful and persuasive, this book speaks directly to the importance of focusing on global education now more than ever.

-- Alma Harris * University of Swansea *

A rich tapestry weaving together data, student identity, and informed professional judgement.  Sharratt and Fullan have provided a context for the use of student data to move from an aspiration that all children can learn to an accountable set of actions to ensure that all means all.   Putting faces on the data requires knowing the whole learner, including their identity, community, and lived experience. 

-- Cathy Montreuil * Department of Education and Early Child Development *

Unlocking the capacity of each student remains the essential work of all teachers and leaders. This new edition expertly provides an elaborated and contemporary focus on how to enhance school performance through identifying and understanding the abilities, passions, and potential of our next generation of innovators and problem solvers.

-- Jim Watterston * The University of Melbourne *

Sharratt and Fullan’s 2012 work was a catalyst for progress in Queensland public education, leading us out of a "teacher-led / data-driven" binary into a new era characterised by deep understanding of our student and community needs, grounded in evidence. New perspectives in this edition reflect contemporary research and case studies, updated parameters, and provocations around emerging global challenges.

-- Sharon Schimming * Department of Education Queensland *

A book starts with blank pages, has within it a lovely apparition and a sense of beauty waiting to be imprinted so that potential readers can then make interpretations about what they see. There is no immaculate perception when interpreting data, but there are multiple meanings tied to beautiful faces.  Sharratt and Fullan paint the pictures, sculpt the beauty of the meaning of data, and dive deeply into the interpretations and implications.  A work of art, indeed.

-- John Hattie * University of Melbourne *

This is our forever work.

-- Gerard Mowbray * Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle *

My journey as a school and system leader has run parallel to the 10 years of Putting Faces on the Data. As a school leader, it helped me learn that the only way you lift outcomes – whether for a class or a school – is child by child. This ensures that we have a line of sight to what each child and school needs to improve student outcomes. Thank you from every child who has been ‘given a face’ in a class, school, and system across the world.

-- Leanne Nixon * School Performance North *

This book changed the way our system views data and how collectively a shared understanding of data literacy brings accountability to the forefront. There is no system improvement without ′Putting Faces on the Data′!    

-- Kate O′Brien * Education and Research Sydney Catholic Schools *

It is great to have a 10th anniversary edition of FACES! This book changed the way we understood how to promote improvement in our work with teachers and leaders in Chile. It taught us what to look for in the process of learning, what data is relevant to collect, and how leaders become learners with their teachers. FACES taught us that focus for collaboration and professional learning is all about putting each student’s achievements at the center of our conversations!

-- Isidora Recart * Fundación Educacional Arauco *

In this fast-paced world, work that is relevant ten years after its first edition speaks to its durability. Each part of this book can be found in the work we do – I see data walls and I hear conversations about assessment and how it drives instruction. This book guides our work with practical examples, clear explanations, and guidance. Thank you to Lyn and Michael for continuing to make Putting FACES on the Data relevant and valuable to all educators!

-- Elaine Lochhead * Seine Rover School Division *

Lyn Sharratt and Michael Fullan clearly articulate the complexity of change and the necessity to understand the 13 parameters by providing an insightful resource using case studies to provide an indisputable pathway to system improvement.  This is a must read for every system leader, school leader, and teacher leader.  Their work has been pivotal in my work as a system change leader in both Manitoba and Alberta and is even more important coming out of a global pandemic.

-- Michael Borgfjord * Pembina Hills School Division *

This powerful book provides the missing links between intention and action. Educators want to see every student succeed in learning and in life. The challenge is to reform the system to deliver on broader and deeper goals while also engaging each student on a pathway to their "best possible, most richly imagined future." This book is a beacon of hope that honours the work of all teachers and leaders by making sense of the improvement journey in classrooms, schools, and systems.

-- Mary Jean Gallagher * Ontario Ministry of Educati