Reviewing the Research and PEAC Recommendations around Principal Evaluation

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Who we are

In 2000, New Leaders was founded to confront the nation’s growing achievement gap and to work toward high quality education for all students.

• Since our founding, the New Leaders’ community has grown from 13 leaders trained in two cities to more than 800 leaders trained in twelve urban areas.

• Nationwide, our leaders currently serve a quarter of a million students in:

Baltimore, MD

Prince George’s County, MD

New Orleans, LA

Jefferson Parish, LA

Charlotte, NC Newark, NJ

Chicago, IL New York, NY

Memphis, TN The Bay Area, CA

Milwaukee, WI Washington, D.C.


RESEARCH SHARED WITH PEAC


A leadership effectiveness strategy starts with a shared vision of leadership and uses levers throughout the span of principals’ careers to ensure quality across the district.

Shared

Vision of

Leadership

Pipeline Development

Pre-Service Training

Evaluation and

Management Selection and

School Match

Retention, Rewards, Dismissal

In-Service Support

District and Data Support Systems

Successful District

District Governance and Principal Autonomy

The foundation for Principal Effectiveness


Principal Effectiveness


Principal link to teacher effectiveness

Principal Effectiveness

Teacher Effectiveness

Student Outcomes

Scholastic National Teacher Survey:• 96% say quality leaders are necessary to retain good teachers.• 91% say leadership quality has an important impact on student

achievement.

Key Principal Roles:• Select and assign effective teachers• Create strong professional learning structures• Develop staff and student cultures that support instruction and teacher retention• Conduct rigorous evaluations and connect to development and career decisions


Principles for use of student outcomes

• Focus more on growth than attainment

• Value all students, not just those approaching proficiency

• Set targets that close in-school or cross-school achievement gaps

• Include “on track” to college non-test measures

• Use multiple years of data for high stakes consequences

• Ensure alignment to other state/LEA accountability systems for principals and schools


Options:

Growth measures using state assessments, district-developed assessments, or off-the-shelf assessments.

Other school-level student outcome measures, including graduation rates, student retention/progression rates, and college acceptance rates for high school.

Consistent state-wide measures versus locally developed measures/targets.

Key Issues:

Do measures cover all grades/subjects in a school? Are assessments aligned with those used in teacher evaluations? Are measures aligned to school/district performance goals? Do data systems exist to collect these measures?

Principal Evaluation:

Measures of student growth


CCSSO Performance Expectations – Implementing the ISLLC Standards

I. Vision, Mission, and Goals

II. Teaching and Learning (priority expectation)

III. Managing Organizational Systems and Safety

IV. Collaborating with Families and Stakeholders

V. Ethics and Integrity

VI. The Education System (broader advocacy)


Field Research - Key Principal Practices

Human Capital Manager

Culture Developer

Hire aligned staff

Provide frequent feedback & learning structures for staff

Manage staff performance

Build a strong Instructional leadership team

Align rigorous curriculum

Implement consistent classroom practices

Use data to drive instructional improvement

Establish common instructional planning

Build adult responsibility for student success

Define expected behaviors aligned to school values

Implement a school-wide code of conduct

Insist on high aspirations

Engage families and community in student learning

Instructional Leader

All supported by effective management of systems and operations, especially use of resources and time


Tools for Principal Practice Evaluation

Principal Practice Standards

Principal Practice Rubric

School Observation Tools

Staff, Community, Student Surveys

Non-Achievement School Data

We recommend rolling up staff/community surveys and non-achievement data into the overall rating of principal practice

Including clear examples of

evidence


Recommendations from PEACPrincipal Evaluation Sub-Committee


PERA Requirements for Principal Evaluation

Each principal must be evaluated every year

Evaluation must be completed by March 1 every year

The summative evaluation must:• Consider the principal’s specific duties, responsibilities,

management, and competence as a principal• Specify the principal’s strengths and weaknesses, with

supporting evidence• Include student growth as a significant factor in the

evaluation• Rate the principal’s performance as:

•Excellent•Proficient•Needs Improvement •Unsatisfactory


Recommendations on model elements

PrincipalPractice

StudentGrowth

OtherMeasures

•Minimum of 50% focused on principal practice ratings

•Define “significant factor” for student growth to be at least 30% of evaluation

•Remaining 20% to be defined by local district, could include:

• Increased weight on principal practice

• Increased weight on student growth

• Other student outcomes (graduation, attendance, AP courses)

• Other School Improvement Plan or growth goals


Principal Practice Requirements

• Standards must align to the IL Standards for Principal Evaluation (used to create state model rubric, aligned to ISLLC)

• Can use the state model rubric, or create/select your own rubric, as long as it has at least 4 levels of performance

• If using a rubric other than the state model, the district must provide training to all evaluators and principals around the standards, rubric, and expectations of performance


IL Standards for Principal Evaluation

I. Living a Vision and Mission for Results

II. Leading and Managing Systems Change

III. Improving Teaching and Learning

IV. Building and Maintaining Collaborative Relationships

V. Leading with Integrity and Professionalism

VI. Creating a Culture of High Expectations


Process for Practice Evaluation

• At least 2 “formal” observations – school site visits - for each principal (scheduled in advance, clear focus of visit) with feedback to the principal within 10 work days

• No limit to the number of informal (not scheduled in advance) school visits and observations, as long as the evidence from those observations is captured in writing as part of the final evaluation

• All other data gathering options (staff and community surveys, artifact reviews, other data gathering) are decided on by local district

• Meeting at least once a year to review evaluation results, confirm areas for growth, and confirm student outcome assessments and metrics for the year (committee recommends more meetings, but only wanted to put one meeting in rules)


Student Growth Requirements

• Requires “academic” assessments – aligned to any area of IL standards

• Multiple assessments – have to use at least two different tests for each annual evaluation

• May include current state tests (ISAT for K-8) as one of the assessments used (different from teacher evaluation recommendations)

“Student growth” means a demonstrable change in a student’s or group of students’ knowledge or skills, as evidenced by gain and/or attainment on two or more assessments, between two or more points in time.


“Student Growth” versus AYP

Student Growth Adequate Yearly Progress

Looks at same students over time – how a group of students performed in 3rd grade and in 4th grade

Compares this year’s 4th graders to last year’s 4th graders

Includes growth across the spectrum – students moving from Below Basic to Basic, or from Meets to Exceeds

Looks only at the change in percentage of students at “meets and exceeds”

Requires that same student was in the school for at least two testing experiences on same assessment

Sets a hard cut-off date to control for student mobility


First-Year Principals and Assistant Principals

Assistant Principals

Evaluated against same practice rubrics as principals and on same timeline

Can use a broader definition of student growth – including looking at student attendance or discipline data if matched to AP role and responsibilities

No change in rules and requirements for first-year principals

Requires evaluator to identify at least two assessments that return data between start of year and February 1

First-Year Principals


Implementation Recommendations


Principal Practice Suggestions

• Focus on training and capacity building – not rubric writing• Adopt state model rubric and benefit from state-provided training

• Adopt an alternate rubric from a provider with good tools/services for training (look at NY State list of approved rubrics)

• Begin aligning all principal professional learning experiences to this rubric language starting as soon as possible

• Set up opportunities for evaluators to discuss observations and ratings (within larger districts, across smaller districts) – especially sharing tips and tools for doing effective site visits

• Identify any tools for gathering input from staff and parents and align to selected rubric (examples include state-wide learning climate survey, VAL-ED, CALL assessment)

• Revise principal hiring criteria and process to match new practice expectations


Student Growth Options

• % of students staying at same performance band or increasing to next level from year to year

• Increase in % of students at “meets” and % of students at “exceeds”

• % of students that meet or exceed the “predicted” score on an assessment (such as MAP/NWEA or EPAS)

• % of students in particular sub-groups that stay at same performance level or improve from year to year


Other Elements of Principal Evaluation

• Retention of effective teachers

• AP course taking and passing rates

• Reduction of achievement gaps within the school

• Completion of professional growth plan activities

• Completion of school improvement plan goals

Strongly Recommended

• Student attendance

•Graduation or “on track” measures (secondary schools)

Additional Examples