In elite sports, the margin between good and great is measured in milliseconds, millimeters, and metabolic output. Athletes—from Olympic swimmers like Michael Phelps to Kentucky Derby champions like Sovereignty and PGA Golfer Ben Griffin—train with extraordinary precision. Every calorie consumed, every hour of sleep, every minute of practice is tracked and optimized. The data is constant. The feedback is immediate. Improvement is non-negotiable.
Yet in public education—where the stakes are arguably even higher, sometimes life or death for our students—we still allow guesswork to dominate how we evaluate teaching and learning.
The Misalignment Dilemma
As a former classroom teacher, principal, and superintendent, I’ve seen districts invest millions in curriculum products that promise alignment to standards. But even the best curriculum falls short when not paired with timely assessments and tools to interpret the data. Too often, teachers are left to create and revise assessments on their own—despite not being trained by assessment designers. The result? Misalignment, inequity, and missed opportunities.
The research backs this up. A 2019 RAND study found that most teachers rely on a mix of resources—many self-created—and struggle to find materials that are both standards-aligned and instructionally sound. Without coherent systems, we place unreasonable expectations on educators and leave student growth to chance.
Balanced Assessment: The Missing Middle
A truly balanced assessment system includes formative, interim/benchmark, and summative assessments—aligned to the curriculum and designed to inform instruction at every stage. As assessment expert Dylan Wiliam notes, “Assessment should primarily serve the purpose of improving students’ learning.” That means assessments must be timely, targeted, and actionable.
Yet, many districts still operate in silos: curriculum from one vendor, assessments from another, dashboards that don’t communicate, and data reports that arrive weeks behind the moment when a student needs support.
This is where technology and leadership must converge.
Lessons from Sports Science: Precision Equals Progress
In sports science, the tools used to track performance have become more sophisticated, not less. GPS tracking, metabolic testing, and predictive AI are the norm. Why shouldn’t schools apply the same level of precision?
Prometric, for example, offers patented tools that identify learning gaps with pinpoint accuracy—instantly and at scale. This approach enables districts to tightly align curriculum, assessment, and instruction. Teachers no longer need to build their own assessments or guess whether students are on track—they’re equipped with real-time insights and support to act.
A Case in Point: Port St. Lucie, Florida
St. Lucie Public Schools in Florida offers a powerful example of precision in practice. Under bold, visionary leadership, the district has partnered with Prometric to build a fully aligned instructional ecosystem. Teachers now have access to coherent, connected tools that reduce planning burdens and elevate instruction.
No more guesswork. No more fragmented systems. Instead, educators are empowered with the same level of feedback and alignment that drives elite athletic performance.
Leadership Matters
The two most important in-school factors for student success remain constant: the classroom teacher and the school principal. But even the best educators can’t shoulder the weight of a broken system. It is the responsibility of district leaders to ensure they have what they need to succeed—aligned curriculum, effective assessments, and actionable data.
This isn’t about micromanaging classrooms. It’s about building the infrastructure for excellence to flourish—consistently and equitably.
The Call to Action
Why are so many school systems slow to embrace precision? We are not short on tools—we are short on urgency and coherence. We would never expect a coach to develop elite athletes using vague feedback, outdated drills, and guesswork. So why do we tolerate that in education?
It’s time for K-12 systems to evolve. The path to improved outcomes runs through aligned curriculum, balanced assessments, and systems that make learning visible. Let’s unlock the same precision we demand in elite sports performance in our classrooms—because our students deserve nothing less.