Dr. Mary Cochron
-
Before You Look for Growth, Look for Implementation
Educational systems often rush to evaluate outcomes before understanding whether new initiatives were implemented consistently. Before looking for growth, leaders should first ask whether the work itself has actually taken hold.
-
The Problem with Urgency in Education Decision-Making
In education, urgency is often treated as a virtue. However, meaningful improvement inside complex systems rarely happens through rushed implementation or constant initiative shifts. Sustainable growth requires stability, coherence, and leadership willing to protect the work long enough for it to matter.
-
Why Good Data Still Gets Misused
Assessment data is often technically sound yet still misused. The problem is rarely the numbers themselves — it’s the urgency, pressure, and human systems surrounding them.
-
Start Asking These Questions of Test Data
Statewide assessments don’t answer every question, but they can reveal meaningful patterns over time. The key is asking questions aligned to what the data is actually designed to show.
-
Stop Asking These Questions of Test Data
Statewide assessments provide valuable system-level insights, but only when used correctly. Learn what test results can and cannot tell us about student learning.
-
Calm Is a Leadership Move During Testing Season
Testing season isn’t just about procedures. It’s about the conditions adults create, and how those conditions shape what student performance actually reflects.
-
The Hidden Work of Testing Season (That No One Talks About)
Testing season isn’t just administration. It’s coordination, communication, and invisible leadership. Here’s what school and district leaders need to understand about the work behind the data.
-
What You Do Right Now Matters More Than You Think
What happens during testing matters more than you think. This article explores how adult behavior, pressure, and environment shape both student experience and the meaning of assessment data.
-
When the Measure Becomes the Goal
Goodhart’s Law explains why test scores can distort learning when they become the goal. Explore how measurement, pressure, and system behavior impact education.
-
When Testing Doesn’t Go as Planned: A More Complete Approach to Statewide Assessments
When testing disruptions happen, system response matters. Learn how adult understanding, communication, and flexibility shape the assessment environment and support students during statewide testing.