A Superintendent Submits... The Common Assessment Process

An LYS Superintendent shares the following:

SC, 

A superintendent and a teacher asked me essentially the same set of questions yesterday - two different districts, two different roles, but the same dilemma. Both districts have just completed a testing cycle of "curriculum based assessments” with seemingly poor results. The following are my thoughts.

1. Great job doing common assessments!  I will add that waiting 6 to 9 weeks is too long. You are now finding out 9 weeks into the school year that your instructional practices are maybe, and I add MAYBE, not as effective as you thought they were.  You could have known that with a short assessment 6 weeks ago, after only 3 weeks of instruction had passed.  Teachers, if your district persists in doing 6 weeks and 9 weeks assessments, it falls to you to make 3 weeks assessments, in the same format as the district's common assessments.  These can and should be less than 10 questions long, and should not take an entire class period.  You can and should spiral questions from identified holes onto these assessments. In other words, follow the Cain model.

2. Both districts are implementing C-Scope for the first time this year.  Now it must be made clear to everyone that this is NOT the first year both of these districts made C-Scope available to the staff, it is merely the first year both districts have become concerned enough to mandate and monitor the implementation of the curriculum. Leaders, you may want to sit down, because this may sting.  What you have done as leaders, by not making an aligned curriculum mandatory, is an egregious leadership failure. You KNEW you needed a curriculum, which is why you bought it, yet you failed to lead the implementation of the curriculum.  Your responsibility to implement best practices, including curriculum implementation, does not end simply because you sent teachers to C-Scope training. Enough said, now don't beat yourself up over it, let's fix it.  Also, don't beat the teachers up either, as this situation is mostly a result of your leadership failure, not teaching failure.

3. Early testing results in both districts were, to be generous, poor. Neither of these testing results should be a surprise.  That is, I would bet a copy of the Fundamental 5 (Cain & Laird) that neither district had TEACHERS conduct a focused analysis of their student's deficiencies AND develope a viable plan to fill in holes.  Every teacher in my district was required to identify the most failed objectives from last year.  Once that was conducted, we remembered our Schmoker: we concentrate on the deepest hole and begin filling it weekly.  Schmoker tells us that if we try to fill all learning holes, we fill nothing. However, learning is a complex interconnected web. If we begin by filling in the deepest hole, we will address some learning gaps and misconceptions that are likely to partially or completely fill in other holes.  Once the deepest hole is filled, and that may take a while, start on the next one.  The catch here is two-fold.  One, your students have not been in an aligned scope and sequence, so there are certainly holes in the learning.  This will create low common assessment scores.  Two, this phenomenon of low scores was totally predictable had you put some thought to the problem early on.  This reflects back to point one: MAYBE the instruction was ineffective, or MAYBE it was effective but there are just too many unidentified and un-addressed learning holes.

4. The first year of common assessment implementation is likely to be chaotic.  Again, leadership created this chaos; so don't panic in the face of your creation!  Scores will be low, holes need to be identified, and strategies need to be developed to fill in the holes, one at a time.  The process is not as slow as it sounds, but don't be surprised when your common assessment scores remain in the tank all year long.  The trick is to look at next year's common assessment scores.  Are the scores moving up, overall?  If so, your system is beginning to add value to children, congratulations! Keep the word "system" in mind. You are now in the first stages of creating a system approach to educating children. Before you were simply treating symptoms. System work will be much harder.  Keep in mind too that it is likely you do not fully understand instructional systems at this point.  I started using an instructional system approach in 2006. It was not until 2009 that I would have called myself actually competent, three years.  The 10,000-hour rule as described by Gladwell is in full play here.

5. Common assessment data is valuable in the following ways: A. It puts a numerical value on the health of your instructional systems. B. It verifies if instructional strategies and deficit filling are occurring, over time. C. And this is a distant third, it is student performance data.  We seem to get common assessment data and then want to come up with student interventions, which is the LEAST valuable data from common assessments.  Student interventions are symptom treating, and that is OK as long as the main thrust is to treat the disease.  In our case, the disease is an ineffective instructional system.  I see teachers spending hours doing tutorials after school: symptom treating.  I see almost ZERO time spent anywhere trying to create a better instructional system.  Those priorities are 180 degrees out of synch.

In closing, don't panic in the face of common assessment scores.  Use the scores to improve your systems.  It took Lesa Cain three years of faithful and relentless systems building in order to produce an exceedingly high performing school with a student body consisting almost entirely of low SES students. Not to mention that Lesa had access to an incredible support network that too many of us don't have (but you can).  Just understand that system building is work.  Work this process diligently for several years and reap the rewards.  Leadership should concern themselves only with teachers who refuse to implement the curriculum, refuse to adjust instructional practices, and refuse to fill in student learning gaps. For teachers who are on board, pat them on the back and a give them a little cover and a little time.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
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On-going Professional Development and the Book List

I had an LYS principal call me last week with a question and a request. The question was this:

“What should I be doing to prepare myself for my next job, in terms of professional development?”

This is an excellent question. I told him that there are a couple of things he should be doing. First, he should focus on ensuring that his campus is working everyday to maximize student performance (Check – Middle School, Exemplary without TPM).

Second, he should begin attending the state and national principal conferences and also the state and national school administrator conferences (TASA and AASA). These conferences attract excellent speakers and have numerous sessions devoted to current issues and education.

Finally, he should add a measure of discipline and focus to his reading. Spend less time on fiction and devote more time reading about instruction, leadership and organizations.

I told him by doing this, he would begin to separate himself from the pack during the interview process.

As for his request, he asked for the list of ten books I recommend to school leaders. So here is the list again, just in time for your holiday reading:

The First Five

1. Results Now, by Mike Schmoker. This book sets the tone. If on the whole you disagree with what Mike writes in this book, you are going to disagree with LYS (the Organization and probably the Nation).

2. Corp Business, by David H. Freedman. The book I made every new AP I hired read. I have yet to find a book that does a better job of laying out the actionable ABC’s of leading people in the field.

3. Good to Great, by Jim Collins. There are hedgehogs and foxes. Reject your fox instincts and embrace your inner hedgehog.

4. The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell. The primer on the power of the few. Those who question the power of the LYS Nation just don’t recognize the implication of a network of the best Mavens, Connectors and Salespeople in our field.

5. Classroom Instruction That Works, by Robert Marzano. The final word on the research that proves the effect of best practice. This book is so critical to our profession that if you haven’t read it yet, you don’t deserve a seat at the table when the discussion turns to instruction.

The Best of the Rest (6-10)

6. The Moral Imperative of School Leadership, by Michael Fullan. You actually should read everything that Fullan writes, but if time is a factor, this is the one to start with. I do have one small problem with Fullan. He’s too smart. He understands the nuances that drive expert leadership and does a world class job of explaining this (perhaps better than anyone). Unfortunately, the smart/lazy manager type can use Fullan as justification for their repeatedly inane actions (or inaction).

7. How the Mighty Fall, by Jim Collins. Yes, it is a business book, but Collins lays out the doom loop that district after district is currently stuck in. Fortunately, he tells us how to get out of the loop and even prevent it. Unfortunately, most senior leadership doesn’t care and isn’t listening.

8. Who Moved My Cheese, by Spencer Johnson, M.D. The modern classic. I only appreciated it after I read it the second time. First, you have to have tried to manage significant organizational change and made a mess of it; than you are ready understand what Dr. Johnson is really teaching us.

9. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John C. Maxwell. Maxwell is a former pastor. He writes about church leadership. In many ways, church leadership is a better model for school leaders than business leadership. Violate the Irrefutable Laws at the peril of your organization and you career.

10. Slot number ten is filled by a number of books, that depending on my mood, interest, or need of the person I’m working with, that I might recommend. Some of those books include:

33 Strategies of War, by Robert Greene for strategic and tactical planning.

The Federalist Papers, by Hamilton, Madison and Jay. If you are trying to lead an organization of more than three people who have competing self-interests, you might find this worth reading.

It’s Called Work for a Reason, by Larry Wingate. Admittedly a pulp book. But sometimes we have to get over ourselves, cut thru the BS and admit that we had a job to do and how hard we tried doesn’t matter if we’re not successful. Just looking at the title ought to give you a little boost when the going gets tough.

His Excellency, by Joseph J. Ellis. Think you have leadership all figured out? If this study of George Washington doesn’t convince otherwise, you must be pretty darn good.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Asks... 4 Books

A LYS Assistant Superintendent recently asked me what four books I would recommend to school leaders that best encapsulate the LYS philosophy.

I have to admit that I failed. I could create the top ten list and I could create a top seven list. However, try as I might I could not create a top four list. But I did get close; here are the five books that I believe that every member of the LYS Nation should read. These works are a critical part of the tapestry that is at the core of LYS beliefs and actions. Now in order:

1. Results Now, by Mike Schmoker. This book sets the LYS tone. If on the whole you disagree with what Mike writes in this book, you are going to disagree with LYS (the organization and probably the Nation).

2. Corp Business, by David H. Freedman. This is the book I had every new AP I hired read. I have yet to find a book that does a better job of laying out the actionable ABC’s of leading people in the field.

3. Good to Great, by Jim Collins. There are hedgehogs and foxes. Reject your fox instincts and embrace your inner hedgehog. Don't have a clue what I'm talking about? Read the book.

4. The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell. The primer on the power of the few. Those who question the power of the LYS Nation just don’t recognize the implication of a network of the best Mavens, Connectors and Salespeople in our field.

5. Classroom Instruction That Works, by Robert Marzano. The final word on the research that proves the effect of best practice. This book is so critical to our profession that if you haven’t read it yet, you have to question whether or not you deserve a seat at the table when the discussion turns to instruction.

There you go, my recommended initial reading assignment for the summer.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (School Dysfunction - Part 3)

In response to the post, “School Dysfunction," a reader writes:

"SC, I’ve been thinking about your comment, "…that soon LYS schools will be the norm rather than the exception."

I believe this is true. However, after a recent candidate interview with E. Don Brown, we discussed how districts need LYS superintendents and then the public school landscape would really begin to change.

Do you agree it needs to be a top-down transformation before we can really gain ground?"

SC Response
Yes and no. Let me clarify my take on the current school improvement (change) environment.

1. Without a strong and communicated moral purpose for public school change, most schools are simply shuffling the deck chairs while the ship sinks.

2. A wide spread, spontaneous bottom up transformation is a fantasy. If we were all going to join hands, sing Kum-ba-ya, and transform our schools, it would have happened all ready.

3. However, meaningful change can and does happen at the campus level. Sometimes that change is infectious and transforms an entire district. Sometimes it peters out. What campus driven change requires are connectors and salesmen if it is to spread (See: The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell).

4. At the district level, top-down transformation generally has a better chance of sticking than bottom-up transformation. Two factors that heavily influence this are the power of coercion and the power of the herd. The power of coercion simply recognizes that if one has the power to hire and fire, and is not afraid to use it, one can force change. The power of the herd recognizes that most people are willing to go along to get along. If the leader mandates a new norm (and can survive during the short run) in the long run the norm will generally transform. What top-down transformation needs to survive is the support of the mavens (Again, see: The Tipping Point).

Here is how I put this all together.

This is the golden age of education. The instructional tools, practices, knowledge and coaching that we now have ready access to is unprecedented. That changes everything. Now the marginal and average educator can perform at the level where previously only the expert educator occupied. Think golf technology, I can regularly bust 270+ yard drives because better equipment now compensates for my multiple skill level deficits.

Moral, focused and motivated leadership can speed up the implementation and regular use of these improved resources. Leadership at an individual level can create some movement. Leadership at multiple levels can create “A Movement.”

The Lead Your School network of focused and motivated teachers, campus leaders, district leaders, experts and other interested parties are building a critical of mass mavens, connectors and salesmen (have you read the Tipping Point yet) armed with proof points that gives them influence beyond their relatively small numbers. The question is whether or not that influence will drive sweeping changes in the effectiveness of schools or will it fade in the face of complacency and vested interests.

I don’t know the answer, but for the past seven years I have lived on the road working with educators all across the country. I have done this because I believe that the business of school is our country’s most important business. And to do nothing, is to leave that business to hope, luck, and chance.

So LYS Nation, what do you think?

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Quick Book Reviews and Recommendations

I been so busy lately and the LYS Nation has had so many things to talk about that I have gotten behind on my book reviews. Since my last post on this subject, I have finished four books. Here are my short reviews, presented in order from least useful to most useful (from a school leadership perspective).

Free: The Future of a Radical Price, by Chris Anderson
A primer on the economics and profits of “free” services in the digital age. From a school leadership perspective, there is not a reason to recommend this book. But it is an interesting read if you follow business trends.

The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All the Difference, By Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval
The authors celebrate the little things and the attention to details that have led to huge successes in the business and social sectors. I’m a fan of the concept, but not this particular book. The book is long on anecdotes and short on substance. Don’t waste your time reading this one. Read anything by Collins, Gladwell, Schmoker, or Fullan instead.

Classroom Walkthroughs to Improve Teaching and Learning, by Donald S. Kachur, Judith A. Stout and Claudia L. Edwards
The authors attempt to provide an overview of classroom observation tools and how to best use them. Don’t waste your time or money on this one. Use Powerwalks and just talk to E. Don Brown (or Montelongo, or Seabolt, or Laird, or McDonald, or Davis, or the other Cain) for 10 minutes and you will be light years ahead of the information in this book.

Revolutionary Strategies of the Founding Fathers: Leadership Lessons from America’s Most Successful Patriots, by Scott Thorpe
Revisiting familiar territory, the author takes the practices of our Revolutionary Era Leaders and provides examples of how the same practices have been successfully implemented in modern situations. If you are not a student of early American leadership practices, then this book provides a decent introduction. If on the other hand you are well read on the subject, this book will not cover any new ground. Overall, the book is an interesting, quick read.

Revolutionary Management: John Adams on Leadership, by Alan Axelrod, Ph.D.
Similar in theme to Scott Thorpe’s book, this book is a more difficult read, but much more useful and rewarding. Using Adams’ actual writings as the subject for each short chapter, the author then provides commentary on the advice and then outlines some practical considerations. If you are in the business of leading people, John Adams is a great historical touchstone. His advice on overcoming the frailties of the individual to achieve organizational success was ahead of his time and is still relevant today. Read this book.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

TASB and AASA Presentations Update

It seems that the education world just can’t get enough of the LYS Nation.

First, on Thursday, over 100 school board members overcame bad weather to hear how the LYS schools have learned to eat the perceived pain of change for breakfast. Look out non-LYS districts, because your board members left the presentation embracing the Moral Imperative to Change and are fully aware of the danger of relying on false positives to assess system performance. It’s hard to be cynical about schools when there are board members like this audience who are out there working their tails off to lead more effectively and efficiently.

Then on Friday and Saturday at AASA, weather was an issue. There were over 700 participant cancellations due to the inclement weather on the East Coast. But we still had a room of interested Superintendents who came to hear how the hard work and disciplined action of motivated educators has produced significant performance gains in the LYS schools in Splendora ISD, Grand Prairie ISD and Cypress Fairbanks ISD. LYS Nation, your story seems like a fairy tale to most schools and their staffs. What was also nice was that the old school Harris County crew was well represented and that Dr. Paige, Dr. Guthrie, Dr. Folkes, Mr. Berry, and Dr. Merrill are still sought out by their peers across the county.

Finally, I’ll close with a little blatant (but unexpected) self-promotion. If it is true that you are known by the company you keep, then Malcolm Gladwell might be slipping a bit. You can find, "Jump Start Your School," on Amazon.com

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... (Why You - Part 2)

In response to the post, “A Reader Asks… Why You,” a reader writes:

“Common sense wasn’t 'Common Sense' until Thomas Paine wrote it.”

SC Response
It is common knowledge that the LYS reader is smarter that the average educator, but a Thomas Paine reference? That’s just showing off.

However, I am going to use your analogy. Paine didn’t invent his argument. He just took the knowledge, discussions and insights of those he was privy to and wrote it down in a way that way understandable and useful to the man in the street. To be compared to Paine is of course an honor (though I get it, the compliment was made tongue in cheek) but in a small, inconsequential way, it is somewhat valid.

I’m the first to admit that I am not an original thinker, but I do think I’m a pretty good translator. What I write about, talk about and coach on is cribbed from the works of Schmoker, Marzano, Collins, Gladwell, Fullen, and Buckingham, just to name a few. Add that to the fact that I was privileged to work for and with icons such as Schaper, Brown, Brezina, Hooker, Neeley, Sawyer, and Richardson. This means that what comes out of my head is the sum total of their wisdom. My spin is that I figure out how to make that work where the rubber hits the road, on the campus and in the classroom.

Practical, common sense solutions work. I do obsess on the work.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

A Reader Writes... Characteristics

To add to the discussion that has revolved around Brezina and Brown (their respective “rules” and advice), a reader writes:

“Yes, there are many types of principals out there, no doubt. What I was trying to tease out is that the only type of principal that counts is the effective principal. If we distill this idea, then perhaps we get these characteristics; the Effective Principal is:

• Is the ultimate and final advocate for the student;
  
• Engages the faculty, students, parents, and community;
  
• Is a leader of leaders. By this we mean the principal builds capacity in others and expects them to be engaged;
  
• Is the biggest cheerleader of, and for, the faculty when they are engaged; and
  
• Is aware of his district’s and school’s DNA and tempers (not compromises) approaches with patience and tactics.

I am sure I have missed something, but out of all of this Brezina and Brown wisdom, it would be useful to distill the characteristics. At least we would have a guide for self-reflection and discovery.”

SC Response
This is a pretty good start on the list. I have had discussions like this with a number of Principals and Superintendents and Brezina and Brown. I actually have a piece written on “Great Principals,” that I’ll post soon. But, here are two ideas that I have been pondering recently.

1. A critical characteristic of the "greats" versus the "others" is the search for ideas. The first filter is, “Are you actively searching for them?” If you aren’t, you may be a hard worker, but you aren’t on the path to being great. The second filter is, “Where are you looking for them?” The Great Principals look both inside and outside the system for ideas. They are self-sufficient shoppers of the world. Good principals seem to look for answers in just one place, either internally or externally.

2. The 10,000 hour rule (or why there does not seem to be as many great ones). The 10,000 hour rule has been discussed for a while now, most recently by Malcolm Gladwell in the book, “Outliers.” The idea is that it takes 10,000 hours of intense reflection, focused practice and work to develop the insight and experience package to be great. Greatness, it seems, is built by purposeful grinding. From a school year perspective, it would take a minimum of seven years to hit 10,000 hours. But, in reality, due to the mundane elements of work, the minimum time to reach the "great" level (think top-tier professional athlete) is probably around 10 to 12 years. So this answers part of the question, why aren’t there more great ones; there aren’t as many principals that are staying in the position for at least 10 years. But, that doesn’t answer the entire question. Here is what I think. I believe that the external factors can re-set the clock. When the rules change, for example – dramatically increased accountability, it backs everyone up. It may not wipe out all the hours of expertise that was built up, but it takes a big chunk of them. Think of Michael Jordan switching to baseball - gifted athlete, mediocre baseball player.

The clock was re-set and the principals that got their jobs right at the time of the re-set are the ones that are the furthest on the path on the new “great.” They have a head start on the new hires and they were building new skills while the older principals were still trying to adapt old skills (it takes a while to realize that what worked before, now doesn't work as well). Again, just some ideas I have been pondering.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…