Principals' Use of Teaching Effectiveness Rubrics in a Race to the Top Evaluation System

• In Event: 42.080 - Instructional Leadership and Supervision in the Age of School Reform and Accountability

Abstract

Race to the Top (RTTT) spurred an increase in the use of state-mandated teacher effectiveness rubrics intended to improve teachers’ practices. How principals adopted these evaluation tools and policies in their schools remains a question for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. Framed by sense-making, this phenomenological qualitative study used field notes, document analysis, and semi-structured interviews to investigate how 12 principals in a Northeastern state used instructional evaluation rubrics during RTTT. Despite professional and cultural challenges, the rubrics provided principals with more structure, access, and opportunities to evaluate teachers’ instruction and professional performance.

Authors

• Douglas M. Wieczorek, Iowa State University

• Brandon Clark, Iowa State University

• George Theoharis, Syracuse University