Practical Guide to Designing Comprehensive Principal Evaluation Systems: A Tool to Assist in the Development of Principal Evaluation Systems. Revised Edition

Across the country, states and districts are designing principal evaluation systems as a means of improving leadership, learning, and school performance. Principal evaluation systems hold potential for supporting leaders' learning and sense of accountability for instructional excellence and student performance. Principal evaluation also is an important component of state and district systems of leadership support efforts, especially when newly designed evaluation systems work in conjunction with principal certification, hiring, and professional development systems. This "Practical Guide to Designing Comprehensive Principal Evaluation Systems" is intended to assist states and districts in developing systems of principal evaluation and support. The guide is organized into three sections: (1) Research and Policy Context; (2) State Accountability and District Responsibility in Principal Evaluation Systems; and (3) Development and Implementation of Comprehensive Principal Evaluation Systems. The document should be used as a facilitation tool for conversation among designers. State and district policymakers should address all components of the guide, but also should capitalize on local capacity and processes when doing so. The authors provide recommendations and the appendices: (1) Glossary of Terms; and (2) Some Principal Evaluation Measures.