Teacher and Principal Evaluation Policy
The data and analysis on this page is from 2019. View and download the most recent policy data and analysis on Principal Effectiveness in District of Columbia from the State of the States 2022: Teacher and Principal Evaluation Policies report.
Objective student growth measures: The District of Columbia does not require student growth to be a factor in a principal's evaluation rating.
Link to teacher effectiveness/instructional leadership: The District of Columbia does not explicitly link principal evaluations and teacher effectiveness/instructional leadership.
Improvement plans: The District of Columbia does not require that principals rated less-than-effective be placed on improvement plans.
Surveys: The District of Columbia explicitly allows parent, staff, and/or student surveys in principal evaluations.
Require objective measures of student growth to play a role in principal evaluation rating.
There is a clear link between school leadership and school outcomes. Therefore, the District of Columbia should require principal evaluations to include objective measures of student growth. This will allow local school districts to more accurately identify effective principals, who are more adept at attracting and retaining effective teachers.
Make an explicit link between principal evaluation and teacher effectiveness/instructional leadership.
Because the time principals spend on organizational management, instructional programming, and teacher evaluation is critically important for positive effects on both teachers and students, the District of Columbia should evaluate its principals—to some degree—on teacher effectiveness and instructional leadership.
Ensure that principals receiving less-than-effective ratings are placed on a professional improvement plan.
The District of Columbia should adopt a policy requiring principals who receive even one less-than-effective evaluation rating to be placed on structured improvement plans. These plans should identify noted deficiencies, define specific action steps necessary to address these deficiencies, and describe how and when progress will be measured.
The District of Columbia was helpful in providing NCTQ with the facts necessary for this analysis. It noted that the ESSA only requires local school districts to report data on teacher effectiveness in compliance with the equitable access initiative in the law. ESSA has no mandate for local school districts to report data on a school-based administrator's performance. District policy must allow local school districts autonomy and flexibility in their school operations and data reporting outside of required federal mandates, this student growth as a "significant" part of a principal's evaluation rating is not required for reporting.
The District added that its policy does not link principal evaluations to teacher effectiveness/instructional leadership because ESSA has no federal mandate for districts to report data on a school-based administrator's performance, and its policy must allow districts autonomy and flexibility in this area.
The District also noted that it does not require that principals rated less-than-effective be placed on improvement plans because ESSA has no federal mandate for districts to comply with this initiative, and thus its policy must allow districts autonomy and flexibility in this area.
Finally, the District reinforced that it recommends the use of parent, staff, and/or student surveys but does not require them. This authority is deferred to the discretion of the districts.
7G: Principal Effectiveness
Research demonstrates that there is a clear link between school leadership and school outcomes.[1] Principals foster school improvement by shaping school goals, policies and practices, and social and organizational structures.[2] Principals vary significantly in their effectiveness, and research suggests that high-quality principals positively affect student achievement, in-school discipline, parents' perceptions of schools, and school climates.[3] Further, principals affect teacher retention and recruitment;[4] effective principals are more adept at retaining effective teachers and removing ineffective teachers.[5] The time principals spend on organizational management, instructional programming, and teacher evaluation is critically important for positive effects on teachers and students.[6] Because principals are an essential component of creating successful schools, their effectiveness should be regularly evaluated by trained evaluators on systems that include objective measures. Such systems will help to ensure that all principals receive the feedback and support necessary to improve their practice and, ultimately, student and school outcomes.