Author Edie Holcomb states, "Data Dynamics is a book about the deliberate and continuous tasks of accessing and using information in the context of district and school improvement processes and teachers' instructional planning." She illustrates the common misuses of data and provides strategies for how to better use data to identify areas for improvement and more effectively help all students succeed. This book is designed to help administrators and leaders use the appropriate data to guide their school improvement efforts. Holcomb uses scenarios from the fictitious Mode Middle School (a composite of real examples) to describe functions of data teams and provide readers with context for using data to improve student achievement. Additionally, each chapter provides sections called "Elementary Exceptions" and "High School Highlights," which identify variations of the events and concepts of the chapter pertinent to those grade levels. Data Dynamics begins with a review of how the focus has shifted from voluntary data use to federal mandates, and outlines current needs and trends that should drive immediate shifts in purpose and action. It goes on to describe conditions that enhance the use of data, including structures and processes that engage staff and tap the leadership of data dynamos. The next chapters examine in detail the importance and use of four types of data: (1) student achievement data, (2) nonacademic student data, (3) staff data, and (4) parent/community data. The book then turns attention to data use within school improvement planning and implementation, including the use of data by teacher teams to plan instruction and monitor and motivate student success and ways in which instructional and school improvement depend on appropriate leadership and support from the district. The book concludes with tools to diagnose the use of data in the administrator/leader's setting and identify next steps to make the data work technically correct and powerful.