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 Nevada from the State of the States 2022: Teacher and Principal Evaluation Policies report.
Objective Student Growth Measures: Nevada requires Student Learning Goals (SLGs)—district-level performance measures—to count for 20 percent of the total evaluation score for the 2017-2018 school year, and 40 percent beginning in the 2018-2019 school year. Student learning data must not be included in the evaluation rating for a first-year principal.
Nevada requires principals to earn one of the three highest SLG rubric scores (two, three, or four) to be eligible for an overall rating of effective. To be eligible for an overall rating of highly effective, principals must earn one of the two highest SLG rubric scores (three or four).
Link to Teacher Effectiveness/Instructional Leadership: Nevada requires that principal evaluations include "an evaluation of the instructional leadership practices"; however, there is no link connecting this evaluation to teacher effectiveness.
Improvement Plans: Nevada requires that principal evaluations include "recommendations for improvements in the performance of the administrator" and "a description of the action that will be taken to assist the administrator in the areas of instructional leadership, professional responsibilities, and the performance of pupils."
Surveys: Nevada allows for the use of evaluation by students or other administrators to be included as part of the overall principal evaluation.
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, Nevada should evaluate its principals—to some degree—on teacher effectiveness and instructional leadership.
Nevada was helpful in providing NCTQ with facts that enhanced this analysis. The state also indicated that with the passage of Assembly Bill 320 during the 2017 legislative session, the following additional changes related to student performance measures have been made to the statewide educator evaluation system:
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.