New Assessment Could Help Gauge Principal Effectiveness

The assessment could assist districts that want principals to move to a learner-centered style of leadership. While districts increasingly expect principals to focus on instruction, they are often evaluated using other criteria. It’s no surprise that principals will do the things they have to do to get a positive evaluation. Changing the evaluation criteria is one way to ensure that principals get the message that expectations have changed.

The assessment’s components include the following:

• High standards of student learning including rigorous learning goals for individuals, teams, and schools
• Ambitious curriculum for all students in core subjects
• Effective teaching practices to maximize learning
• Professional practices and a learner-centered culture; a healthy school environment
• Connections to families, other people, and community institutions that enhance student learning
• Leadership responsibility for reaching high student performance standards; staff and students share responsibility

The assessment was developed by leadership and testing experts at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College and Penn State’s School of Education with a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the Wallace Foundation. To prepare for their work, developers reviewed 65 principal evaluations in use in big city districts around the country.

Many districts have attempted to develop evaluation criteria that focus on instructional leadership without the benefit of being able to test the validity and reliability of their work. If VAL-ED is a success, it will be the first dependable way to discover principals’ strengths, weaknesses, and where they show improvement over time.

The assessment was field tested in 100 elementary, middle, and high schools in 53 districts in 27 states. VAL-ED will report results in two ways: how a principal performs compared to his or her peers nationwide; and whether he or she performs on a “basic,” “proficient,” or “distinguished” level based on expert judgment about principal performance.

Teachers, the principal, and his or her supervisor all participate so the assessment provides “360-degree” feedback on his or her performance. Participants complete the instrument in 20 to 25 minutes, rating the principal’s performance on 72 behaviors using a scale of 1 for “ineffective” to 5 for “outstandingly effective.”

Principals could use the results to get feedback and plan their professional development. Districts, on the other hand, could use the results to make critical personnel decisions, including contract renewal, length of contract, and whether to award bonuses.

—“Assessment to Rate Principal Leadership to Be Field-Tested,” by Lynn Olson, Education Week, Jan. 16, 2008.