Continuous evaluation and monitoring of student progress is a key strategy of leaders for improving performance of school districts. If you don't know what to improve, how can you improve it? Consistent evaluation of school and district instructional practices, program implementation and student progress is how schools and districts measure progress against specific improvement plans, which is based on student needs. Each district collects and analyzes data on a regular basis to find instructional, program or process gaps. When problems are identified, staff collaborate to determine how to address them and improve outcomes for students. In addition, employees are constantly evaluated on their performance and supports are put in place to provide professional development if needed. A culture exists in the districts where staff reflect on their own practices; they are comfortable being observed and evaluated so they can improve. These evaluations provide structure and feedback to the district and school-improvement plans, which allows schools and districts to engage in a continuous improvement process.

The State tab allows you to see some key policies and practices statewide which support evaluation in districts and schools.

The District tab allows you to see the key leadership factors at the district level that promote evaluation among district staff. These characteristics have a direct impact on the principals, teachers and students at the school level.

The School tab allows you to see the key leadership factors at the school level.

The Resources tab provides links to additional information.

The Interviews on the right provide some insight into what teachers, staff and leaders think and feel in a system that encourages evaluation. The interviews are saved as mp3 files and will open in whatever media player you have installed on your system.

State policies and practices that support district leaders' ability to effectively evaluate progress and practices in their districts and schools:

• State accountability policies are clear, rigorous and fair.
• State data systems are in place that provide student data to districts in a timely manner so districts can make diagnostic decisions.
• All administrators and school, district and state personnel are held accountable for their respective role in making the system work. Expectations are high for everyone and all personnel are evaluated based on those expectations.
• State departments of education offer support and intervention strategies to improve data-based decisionmaking and instructional practices.

At the district level, leaders create both policies and practices that support effective evaluation where the following conditions are in place:

• Districts and schools use comprehensive staff evaluations to either "counsel out" the staff or help them improve. District personnel often conduct curriculum implementation visits with all schools to evaluate instruction and curriculum practices; these could be described as mini "accreditation" visits.
• Districts (but mostly schools) provide feedback individually to every teacher on a regular basis. One example is Boston - a large city district - which provides personal feedback to every teacher, every two years, in every middle and high school. (Those teachers also receive feedback from their principals several times per year.)
• All objectives and practices in the district - student achievement, instructional decisions, program/curriculum, staffing decisions - are data-driven.
• The basis for all decisions is "what's best for the students."
• District leaders are always striving to improve the level of performance of their district and the system as a whole.
• Evaluation consultants from outside the school and district are used to provide critical neutral feedback on instructional and system practices.
• Everyone is held accountable for his/her role in the system; leaders must make difficult staffing decisions when necessary.

School Board

The school board's role in evaluation is to provide policy guidance for the district and collaborate with the superintendent to support the focus, vision alignment and resources toward developing high-quality evaluation systems that are used to improve performance.

The Key Work of School Boards is a framework of eight essential key action areas from the National School Board Association (NSBA) that focus and guide schools boards in their efforts to improve student achievement. The eight areas include: Vision, Standards, Assessment, Accountability, Alignment, Climate, Collaborative Relationships, and Continuous Improvement.

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Chris Oram
National City Schools, Director of Student Assessment and Technology (1:15)

Michael Goar
Memphis City Schools, Director of Human Resources (0:43)

Carol Johnson
Memphis City Schools, Superintendent (3:28)

At the school level, principals are the driving force in evaluation and monitoring of student progress, as well as teachers’ progress:

• Leaders observe classroom teaching, practices and techniques on a continual basis to determine when instructional changes are needed.
• Every school has a school-improvement plan based on the unique needs of students in that school. All progress in the school is measured against the plan and staff are clear on their roles.
• School staff meetings (of teachers, instructional leadership teams, school-wide staff) focus on evaluating student data to improve instructional or other practices in order to make determinations about individual student needs; teachers receive the proper instructional support for student needs.
• Teachers receive support, opportunities for improvement and feedback on a regular basis. If instruction does not improve, principals must make the difficult decision to remove teaching staff, if warranted.
• An expectation of continuous improvement is clearly communicated to all teaching staff. Teachers observe each other teaching, work together on curriculum and instructional planning, and provide feedback to each other on teaching strategies that work.

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Nicole Bahnam
Boston Public Schools, Principal, Boston Community Leadership Academy (0:57)

Mrs. Hill
Boston Public Schools, Teacher, Boston Community Leadership Academy (1:18)

Casel Walker
Boston Public Schools, Principal, Manning Elementary (0:41)

Jim Long