Case Studies of California School District Policies: Testing a Research-Based Theoretical Model of Principal Evaluation and Improvement

• In Event: Innovations in Measuring and Assessing Instructional Leadership in Schools

Abstract

Developing and implementing robust principal evaluation systems pose significant challenges in the field of educational leadership and in proposals to improve practice. Race to the Top (2009) guidelines required participating states to link teacher and principal evaluation systems with student achievement data. Whereas linking teacher evaluation and student achievement is supported by a growing body of research, linking student achievement with principal evaluations has been proposed without research or theoretical bases.

A review of state and local evaluation policies by Sanders and Kearney (2011) found, a) many districts faced major challenges in developing evaluation protocols that improved principal performance, b) a weak research foundation, 3) inadequate attention to the technical quality of principal evaluations, and c) inadequate district capacity to implement effective principal evaluations. Led by a team of WestEd and university researchers, the Principal Evaluation Project developed a three-phased investigation of these issues,
1. Development of a theoretical foundation for effective principal evaluation practices.
2. Field-based research to test an empirical model that can guide professional development.
3. Identifying components that districts can use to design and implement effective principal evaluation systems, planning templates, instruments and tools, and
technical training.

The objectives of this multi-case study are to gather district-level descriptive data about principal evaluation policies and processes and to test a theoretical model for developing principal evaluation systems. The research questions and case study design emerged from a comprehensive review of research and professional literature on principal evaluation (Davis, Kearney, Sanders, Thomas, & Leon, 2011).

The project design consists of a comparative case analysis (Creswell, 2009; Merriam, 2009; Yin, 2009 ) of policy structures for principal evaluation and improvement among six California districts reported to have well-developed and implemented practices or policies for principal evaluation. In dyads, research teams are conducting interviews with district administrators; gathering demographic, political, and geographic data to situate the cases in the statewide context, and analyzing district evaluation documents and leadership development policies and procedures.

The pressure from policy makers to use student achievement data in high stakes accountability of principal evaluation systems collides with lack of clear research guidance, lack of resources and technical capacity in the field at the local level, and the need for evidence-based, robust evaluation models within the context of district-level policy structures.

New and revised leadership standards adopted by states (e.g., ISLLC 2008) provide a professional description of desired practices to guide instrument development. The JCSEE Standards (2009) provide technical specifications for personnel evaluation systems and a recent review of the literature provides an empirical foundation (Davis et al, 2011). Combining standards, technical specifications, and evaluation research into a local, contextually appropriate, and technically sound evaluation system challenges state and local policy makers. This study provides empirical evidence to support a theoretical model that can guide district-level policy and practice. The Principal Evaluation Project is a systematic approach to avoid adopting short-term, untested formulas and instead ground policy recommendations within a contextually appropriate, theoretical model for a capacity-building, systems approach to improving principal evaluation and performance.

Authors

• Christopher Thomas, University of San Francisco

• Nancy M. Sanders, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona