nondescript, non-evidence-based practices that still dominate
most principal evaluation must end. Our school leaders and
our schools deserve better.
New Standards for Principal Effectiveness
The principal’s role has evolved significantly over the past
few decades. In addition to retaining the largely managerial
responsibilities of the past, today’s principals are expected
to lead school improvement, increase
student learning, and help staff grow
professionally. In other words, the
principalship has become far more
complex.
One striking difference between
today’s principal evaluation systems
and those of even a decade ago is the
explicit assumption that principals
are responsible not only for their
own behaviors but also for improved
student achievement. In fact, principal
evaluation is now virtually synonymous
with school evaluation.
In this new era of principal accountability, how can we design and
implement a performance evaluation
system that is based on the evidence
of what effective principals do, is fair
to both the principal and the school,
and balances professional growth and
accountability? One approach is to
base principal evaluation squarely on
practical, research-guided performance
standards like those shown in Figure 1,
which I advocate in my work with performance evaluation. Let’s look at the
research supporting the importance of
each of these standards.
Evaluating Principal Behaviors
Standard 1: Instructional Leadership. Instructional leadership
means focusing on factors that promote and support teaching
and learning (Hallinger, 2005). In practical terms, principals
often enact instructional leadership through the following
actions:
n Building and sustaining a robust school vision of learning.
n Sharing leadership with teachers.
n Leading a learning community.
n Monitoring and supporting high-quality curriculum and
instruction.
Smart principals understand the importance of a clear,
shared vision that others within the school can embrace
(Kouzes & Posner, 2002; Wahlstrom & Louis, 2008). They
know that capitalizing on teachers’ leadership and instruc-
tional strengths is smart leadership. Principals lead in a
learning community by promoting practices that result in
effective teaching and mastery learning. And they don’t just
plan and organize a learning focus; they also participate in the
process. In terms of monitoring and
supporting high-quality curriculum
and instruction, effective principals are
aware of instructional practices in their
schools, they are knowledgeable about
curriculum standards, and they ensure
that the standards are taught (Cotton,
2003).
Standard 2: School Climate. When you
enter the schoolhouse door, how does
it feel? As you walk down the halls,
what behaviors do you notice? What
is the energy level of teachers and students in classrooms? These questions
relate to school climate.
Effective principals influence
school climate by ( 1) focusing on
the involvement and support of all
stakeholders and ( 2) building and sus-
taining trust. They build stakeholder
buy-in by fostering positive relation-
ships between parents and the school,
sustaining professional relationships
with the staff, and providing outreach
to parents and the greater community
(Kythreotis, Pashiardis, & Kyriakides,
2010), all while never losing sight of
the school’s vision and goals (Marzano,
Waters, & McNulty, 2005). These
principals know that everyone in the school benefits when
trust abounds. They lead from a position of trust, which they
model and foster daily (Tschannen-Moran, 2009).
Standard 3: Human Resources Leadership. Many of the
human resource functions performed in school districts take
place at the school level. Effective principals understand that
one of their most important responsibilities is the selection,
induction, support, evaluation, and retention of high-quality
staff members (Hallinger & Heck, 1996). When principals
hire, develop, support, and keep the best teachers, they look
like geniuses.
