            |
|
|
How will progress toward success be measured and communicated?
Choice A
The Eagle Elementary community will measure progress by what is said in monthly Superintendent’s report to the Board. It may only be a few lines, but what is said will matter more than anything else that is communicated.
Choice B
Aside from the more formal means of communication, it is word-of-mouth in the Eagle Teacher’s Lounge that will make or break the program. If the three participating teachers bad-mouth the program, others will not give it another chance—particularly since it got a bad rap from some of the faculty who declined participation.
Choice C
There’s no really good way to quantitatively measure progress in changing the way the school community at Eagle will work toward improving each student’s self-discipline. We try to approximate quantitative methods of measuring progress, but it is often unwieldy and hard to do. Instead, we should strive to collect and disseminate good anecdotal information. It always personalizes the issue and makes a good case for change.
Choice D
Why these choices? None of these statements is accurate.
How will progress toward success be measured and communicated?
You Chose A
This statement smacks of authoritarian thinking and relativity. Measuring progress only by what information finally gets to the School Board? Only a few lines? Of more importance than other programs and issues in the school district? More impact than any other communication tactic? Phooey! However, there is at least one grain of truth here. This is one rough measure the public notices - similar to what happens in the political arena.
You Chose B
Don’t overlook any established informal grapevine in your plans for measuring and especially communicating progress – or lack thereof. The trouble with grapevines is that the messages they normally transmit the most rapidly are those that are titillating, shocking, or convey bad news. To be perfectly frank, we’ve never heard of this method being formally included in a strategic change plan. However, its utility should not be discounted.
You Chose C
This statement is not a good one for at least two reasons. The first part of the statement begs the issue of being accountable for results in education. Some say education is an art form that defies systemic ways of making improvement. After all, they say, education isn’t a science! However, the public does measure the success of any given artist by several quantitative means – how much his or her creations sell for, how many are sold, who purchases them, whether they are displayed publicly – you see the picture. Consider quantitative methods! And, the second part of the statement follows the same logic. However, let us always remember that anecdotal information is valuable. It helps present the picture, thereby becoming an important, supplemental tactic in communicating progress in any setting. Just make sure that there is a good system for obtaining anecdotal information, that it is built into the assessment plan, and that the information collected is valid. Otherwise, anecdotal information will hurt more than advance a strategy.
You chose D
If you read our comments about the other choice responses, you realize none of them was a good one.Think about the performance indicators of success that Janet should have defined at the last Challenge Point. She should have used them to set milestones along the way of her operational plan toward gaining the end results she wants. Setting milestones at the onset of a change strategy makes it far easier to measure and communicate progress. For example, she may have decided that one of the results she wants is a 50 percent decrease in the number of student referrals to the principal’s office for misbehavior by the end of the school term. She can fix the milestones she wants to denote progress at fixed points along the route, using the indicator of success as an end point.
Back to questions
Next Question
|
|
|
