You toss and turn and finally decide you really want to know why things or people aren’t working right. Alas, you get the data and the reality hits: “Now I KNOW what is wrong, and NOW I have to fix it.” Here you go…your reward for seeking the truth? Guilty Knowledge.
We prepare our clients to implement assessments and discuss findings, but it’s tough to prepare them for receiving and communicating Guilty Knowledge. We see some sad faces when we tell them that all of those anecdotal opinions that say things are working well are now trumped by data showing EXACTLY how things are going. It takes a confident person to look at the data and react in calm and balanced way. And it takes an even stronger individual to make changes.
Recently we conducted a pilot test with a group of high performing educators. The assessment showed that while they excelled in some areas, there were gaps in performance. These gaps were easily fixable, but they told a consistent story that was less than perfect. The teachers were open to the data and eager to work to change their performance. The administrator was not of the same mindset. The results blew previously held perceptions out of the water. The school was perceived as “top notch”, the teachers “the best in the district.” By implementing a larger assessment, the administrator would be the recipient of Guilty Knowledge. The data from a larger group of teachers would certainly show performance gaps requiring remediation. This was not something the administrator was prepared to undertake, and as a result, the assessment was stopped. While this reaction was disappointing, it showed us that we needed to do more to prepare the administrator to handle the Guilty Knowledge. We needed to talk more about the impact of positive and negative data. As a result of the administrator stopping the assessment, his credibility decreased when the teachers recognized that he wanted to gloss over the gaps and avoid the Guilty Knowledge.
Assessments tell a story. They strip away opinions and show us where we currently stand. They let us know if our past work has paid off. Assessments provide an unblemished look at how well people and systems preform; BUT once that information is public, the recipient has to be tough enough to move the conversation in a new direction and take action.
For our part, we are constantly challenged to better prepare our clients to take on the tough conversations. It isn’t enough to talk about assessment and how to implement; we need to discuss ways to handle the results—whether glowing or Guilty Knowledge.
