Many school measures arrive too late to guide action. Leaders need early signals as well as end results.

Lagging indicators
These tell you what happened after the fact.

  • End-of-term grades

  • External test results

  • Graduation outcomes

  • Semester wellbeing survey totals

Leading indicators
These tell you what is likely to happen next.

  • Attendance and punctuality trend

  • Assignment completion trend

  • Behaviour frequency trend

  • Walkthrough patterns in instruction

  • Student work quality sampling

A practical pairing rule
For every lagging indicator you track, choose at least one leading indicator that could influence it.

Example:

  • Lagging: Writing achievement level

  • Leading: Evidence of explicit success criteria in tasks and feedback frequency

A leadership warning
A leading indicator is only useful if you can influence it.

Key Takeaways

  • Leading indicators support earlier, smaller adjustments.

  • Pair leading and lagging measures to reduce surprise.

  • Choose indicators you can act on.

Quick Check

Take one outcome you care about. Name one leading indicator you can influence within two weeks.

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