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It’s Time for Midterm Grades (But not the kind you’re thinking of)


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Every October, colleges and universities across the country send out midterm grades. They don’t actually count for much — they’re a progress report, a pulse check halfway through the semester.

Dr. David Dinin, who teaches a class at Duke called Learning to Fail, recently wrote about his experience giving midterm grades in a course literally designed around failure. As you can imagine, that made for some fascinating irony.


His students wrote to him confused and a little hurt:

“Dr. Dinin, I love this class. It’s the most meaningful class I’ve ever taken at Duke. I’ve learned more from it than any other course. But I’m wondering why I got… the grade I got.”

It’s funny — until you realize how much that sounds like all of us.

We chase metrics that prove we’re doing well: grades, salaries, job titles, test scores, likes, or even leadership evaluations. And somewhere along the way, those numbers stop being information and start being identity.

We forget the score is supposed to serve the growth — not define it.


When Metrics Replace Meaning

In education, we talk constantly about data — proficiency rates, attendance percentages, growth targets. Don’t get me wrong: data matters. I live by it. It helps us identify barriers, measure progress, and make decisions rooted in evidence rather than emotion.

But there’s a line — and too many people cross it without realizing it.

When measurement becomes the mission, meaning gets lost.

I’ve watched exceptional educators forget how impactful they are because a spreadsheet told them otherwise. I’ve seen leaders confuse busyness with effectiveness, believing that if they just log one more initiative, one more meeting, one more metric — then they’ll feel successful.

The truth? You’ll never outwork insecurity if you’re trying to prove you’re enough.

We weren’t built to be measured. We were built to make a difference.


The Leadership Midterm

If we handed out midterm grades for leadership — and trust me, I’ve thought about it — most of us would probably flinch before opening the envelope. Not because we aren’t working hard, but because we’re not always working on the right things.

So here’s my challenge to fellow leaders, educators, and anyone feeling buried under scorecards and dashboards: Take your own midterm. But don’t measure what’s easy to count. Measure what actually counts.


Ask yourself:

  • Have I made people feel valued, not just evaluated?

  • Am I modeling the calm I expect from others?

  • Have I created more clarity than confusion?

  • Do my people feel seen, heard, and supported?


Those don’t fit neatly on a report card. But they determine everything about the culture you’re building.


The Grades That Matter Most

This week, I’m challenging myself — and my team — to step back from the scoreboard and focus on the substance. To notice the moments that never make a data chart: the hallway conversation that changed a student’s day, the teacher who quietly keeps a struggling kid afloat, the colleague who asks “How are you really doing?” before talking about work.

None of that gets entered in a system. But it’s the only stuff that will ever matter.

So, as we hit the midpoint of another busy fall, maybe it’s time we all took stock — not of where we rank, but of who we’re becoming.

Because the best leaders don’t chase perfect grades.

They keep growing long after the test is over.

 
 
 

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