Principal Evaluation in the United States: A National Policy Analysis

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: School Leaders: Human Capital, Compensation, and Evaluation

Abstract

The growing recognition that principals matter for student learning (how and how much) has fueled the need to ensure that effective principals are leading every school by revising principal evaluation policies and practices. To document these trends, we present a subset of findings (n = 5 states) from a national analysis that was conducted to determine how states are revising their principal evaluation policies and practices in relation to existing literature. Findings indicate that principal evaluation statutes and regulations rarely reflected extant literature and there was limited consistency in principal evaluation policies across states. Few stakeholders were included as required for principal evaluations. Implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed.

Authors

• Sarah R Nielsen, Utah State University

• Alyson Lavigne, Utah State University