Fitzjarrald – Self-Assessment

This past week, I took a 21 point self-assessment to determine my strengths in areas of leadership. Within the first minute of the assessment, I could tell exactly where my strengths and weaknesses were, but it took me almost a week to digest them. The most striking discovery was that I am considerably weaker in areas that lead to increased student acievement (according to Fig 4.2, p. 63 of Marzano).

Over and over again, I was marking myself low in areas of Situational Awareness and Flexibility. Some of this is definately tied to my own self-image as a young educator (which I can tell by my responses to the wording of the questions). In the past few months, I have taken drastic steps to embrace my youthfullness. I have found in my travels and research that young educators are largely discounted in the current school system. Because of my youth and this general perception, I scored myself low in areas of Providing Useful Resources, Adapting my Leadership Style, and Situational Awareness.

These scores trouble me to some degree! I am looking at a long career in education as an educator and administrator. In my work, I feel like I do a great job of adapting to the situation and managing my resources. This assessment hits me in areas where I am a little sore from previous wounds (in interviews, etc.) and points out obvious flaws that are part of my youthful approach.

The beauty of taking this assessment now is that I am learning so much in my professional and personal life. This year I will continue to grow and develop my Situational Awareness by engaging in some of the activities of administration and copious personal and professional development.

In a years time, these scores will change. Take that Marzano!

One Comment

  1. Ryan says:

    I agree with the final comment. These scores WILL without question change in the next 12 months. They are also connected to experience, current role in edcuation, and your own skill sets. I would not get too caught up in the challenges of the youthful educator. I can see in my own district that the winds of change are upon us. My new superintendent is 31 years old!