Principal Performance Management: Scorecard for State Policymakers - See above, but for principals. The 13-question tool begins with Description of Effective Leadership. The zero answer is, "The state does not provide or include a definition of principal effectiveness as part of its evaluation system." The answer that rates a one is, "The state provides a definition of principal effectiveness, but it is not tied to any state and/or research-based standards and focuses only on principal practice or principal outcomes, but not on both components." The best third alternative that wins two points is, "The state provides a comprehensive definition of principal effectiveness that is tied to state and/or research-based standards." The definition describes the knowledge, skills, and practices a principle must exhibit in order to lead efforts that result in school improvement and student learning. (American Institutes for Research, August 2013)...

Principals Matter: Principal Evaluations from a Teacher Perspective - This paper provides recommendations from a group of New York teachers on principal evaluations. Just as teachers need meaningful support to grow as professionals, principals also need feedback to become more effective in their roles. Teachers are not interested in a punitive system for principals; teachers simply want principals to be evaluated and supported so they can help teachers help the students. With that in mind, the authors developed these recommendations to assist in the development of principal evaluation systems. (Educators 4 Excellence, March 2012)...

The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning - This Wallace Perspective reviews a decade of foundation research and work in school leadership to identify what it is that effective school principals do. It concludes that they carry out five key actions particularly well, including shaping a vision of academic success for all students and cultivating leadership in others. (The Wallace Foundation, Nov 2011)...

How Six States Are Implementing Principal Evaluation Systems - This brief provides state and district policymakers with information on currently operating state policies and systems of principal evaluation in six states. Because state systems are complex and have very different policy contexts, the information can be classified as snapshots rather than full details about states’ principal evaluation systems. (Integrated Leadership Development Initiative and WestEd, June 2011)...

Pre-K-3rd: Principals as Crucial Instructional Leaders - Policymakers and educators recognize the critical importance of elementary school principals in leading effective schools to improve student achievement. In this report the author finds that principals are especially crucial in Pre-K-3rd settings where instructional leaders must align standards, curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessments from Pre-K through the elementary grades. (Foundation for Child Development, April 2011)...

Assessing the Effectiveness of School Leaders: New Directions and New Processes - Research concludes that most assessments of school leaders in use today are not as focused on learning as they should be, nor are they effective in gathering reliable facts about how leaders’ behaviors are or are not promoting learning. This Wallace Perspective describes the elements of a possible new direction in leader assessment – what should be assessed, and how. It highlights newly-developed assessment instruments that seek to apply those elements. And it discusses the potential, the challenges and the unknowns of using assessment as a key means of promoting not only better leader performance but also systemwide improvements that benefit children. (The Wallace Foundation, March 2009)...