I was talking to a principal on the phone last night and I asked him how his students were doing on the state accountability test. He admitted that he was a bit nervous.

I told him that was a good thing and that he passed a basic litmus test. Principals that understand, collect and use data effectively are the most nervous during the tests. The reason why is because they are intimately aware how tenuous their rating is. They know that one or two students in can make a difference one way or another. And then they second guess themselves, did they do enough, or too much?

The principals that are clueless about data, on the other hand live in blissful ignorance. They say things like, “we’re not worried about the test this year,” or “we always pull it out in the end.”

So don’t be embarrassed about being nervous. It just proves that you are smarter than the average bear.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn…