The top level goal in education is most often measured by achievement on standardized tests.  Unfortunately, by the time the test is administered, it is often too late to make a difference. During a project with Chicago Public Schools to help turn around the failing Medill School, we developed a Strategy Map for the project.  Strategy Maps are a graphical representation of the Balanced Scorecard approach for driving change.

The key to the Balanced Scorecard / Strategy Map is to layout the sequence of events leading to the ultimate “How do we measure success?” question.  In this situation it is:

• A strong financial base
• Allows us to hire the teachers and create the infrastructure
• That supports the educational process and
• Leads to student success.