With all the hype about standardized testing, you may come to the conclusion that it’s just purely evil. After all, we’re all created with individual gifts and talents, and should accommodate learners according to their abilities. Then what’s the goal of standardized testing? Is it to create a benchmark, or is it to assess learning?…

Now before you think this is an all “doom and gloom” article regarding faith-based schools, let me say that there are a number of faith-based schools across the country that are doing things “right,” evidenced by their continued growth, vibrant parent community, excellent work atmosphere, healthy support from donors and alumni, and phenomenal students that…

In 2009, Simon Sinek published an excellent text titled, “Start With Why.”  The premise is that in our world today, “What” is still emphasized, forcing customers to evaluate features rather than benefits. Prior to 1990, “features” were the reason that consumers made economic decisions.  “Let me show you what this car can do!” “What do…

(Photo credit: NPR) Common core curriculum and stringent standardized testing have become two of the most widely discussed topics in education today (besides masking and other safety issues).  Standardized tests are indeed important, but for pre-assessment evaluation, to see what needs to be done; not for post-learning assessment to see how well students are achieving. …

Business consultant, author and speaker Patrick Lencioni has written an excellent book titled, “The Advantage.”  It speaks to what gives a company their “advantage” over their competitors in the marketplace today.  The answer, while it sound simple, is actually quite complicated, and can’t be identified through metrics, strategies, and all that left-brain stuff that most…

(Source: New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax) This is 2024, and about ten years ago, we were starting to hear some pretty dire stories in the media about the student loan crisis. One of them from The Motley Fool (http://www.fool.com) is titled, “The Student Loan Crisis is Here, and It’s Pretty Scary” (http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/01/19/the-student-loan-crisis-is-here-and-its-pretty-sca.aspx).  The story…

“As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be” does not apply to the role of the principal of a school. In the days of the one-room schoolhouse, there was only one teacher.  She (yes – she.  And she was a woman who was not married) taught all of the students in…

In 2015, most of the world had heard about Ahmed Mohamed, the 9th grader in Texas who was arrested after bringing a clock to school that, to school administration, looked like it could be an explosive device.  The issue sparked a controversy as was explained in an article in The Washington Post. Some say the…

Every now and then, an absolutely great idea comes along. When it does, and it’s brought to the marketplace, and the market (that is, the audience it is released to) will ultimately decide if it is a great idea, or if it’s not. If it’s a great idea, like the iPhone, it will be embraced,…

Let’s take a little trip back in time, about 19 years, to 2005.  At that time, I attended a conference of the International Center for Leadership in Education (http://www.leadered.com) held in Nashville, TN.  Willard R. Daggett, Ed.D., is Founder and Chairman of the organization, which advocates for a framework of Rigor and Relevance in the…