EPISODE 304

Is testing season taking over your school?

Big Takeaways

  • Test prep won’t replace real instruction.
  • Your testing anxiety is contagious. If you’re panicked, you pass your anxiety on to your teachers and they pass it on to the kids.
  • Your teachers don’t need another data meeting right now. Stop drowning them in numbers and start giving them strategies that work.
  • If you haven’t been preparing students for the big test all year long, it’s too late now. Last minute cramming won’t save your scores.
  • If testing season is taking over your school, your systems are broken. 
Testing season is here, bringing intense pressure that can derail instruction, school culture, and teacher morale.

With district mandates looming and high-stakes assessments weighing on students and staff, it’s easy for schools to shift into panic mode. But Builders take a different approach—one that prioritizes real learning while still achieving strong results. 

In this episode, discover how to navigate testing season without letting it consume your school, refocus on what truly moves the needle, and equip students with the confidence and skills they need to show what they know #LikeABuilder.

Check out these highlights:
  • Why most schools crumble under testing pressure—and how Builders keep learning the priority.
  • How last-minute test prep mandates make things worse (and what to do instead).
  • The three biggest testing mistakes principals make—and how to avoid them.
  • Why focusing on what students don’t know creates more stress (and how to flip the script).
  • The hidden reason students underperform on tests—it’s not what you think.
  • The simple mindset shift that makes testing season feel less like a crisis and more like an opportunity.
Links mentioned in this episode:

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