STRENGTHENING
CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
The Power of Assessment
O
RGANIZATIONS ACROSS ALL industries have
long focused on employee performance to meet their
objectives. Routine evaluations of performance are certainly
commonplace. However, many organizations, especially
those in the nonprofit world, have ignored the power of
overall organizational assessment. Failing to assess processes
from an aerial view prevents the discovery of underlying
root causes, thus hampering healthy growth.
Leading management consultants, such as the late Dr.
W. Edwards Deming, stressed the importance for leaders
to focus their attention on the organization as a whole as
opposed to the performance of specific individuals. Due
to the devastation Japan experienced during World War II,
General Douglas MacArthur requested that Deming travel
to Japan and aid the reconstruction effort. Deming’s philos-
ophies reshaped Japan’s thinking and ultimately revolution-
By Ron Gordon - Executive Vice
President & COO of Renewanation
ized the world of manufacturing. One of his core principles
was the need to focus on the overall management system.
He indicated 94% of all the challenges and opportunities
faced in an organization were attributed to the systems, not
the individuals. He further emphasized that these systems
were the responsibility of leadership. Leaders of thriving
organizations have realized that assessment plays a critical
role in identifying these system gaps and strengthening
their key processes.
The same holds true in the world of education. While
performance assessments for faculty, staff, students, and
board members have become routine and are certainly
necessary, Christian schools miss an even greater oppor-
tunity to improve their impact when they fail to addition-
ally include overall system assessments. Although various
accrediting entities gear their assessment in this fashion,
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