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 Rhode Island from the State of the States 2022: Teacher and Principal Evaluation Policies report.
Objective Student Growth Measures: Rhode Island requires that student learning count for 30 percent of a principal's evaluation rating.
Link to Teacher Effectiveness/Instructional Leadership: Rhode Island requires that professional practice rubric components include the following:
Require or explicitly allow surveys.
Rhode Island should require—or at the very least, explicitly allow—survey data to be included in a principal's evaluation rating. These data could be derived from school climate, teacher, student, or school community surveys and are necessary to provide data about a principal's overall leadership of the school community.
Rhode Island was helpful in providing the facts necessary for this analysis. The state added that any building administrator who receives a final effectiveness rating of developing or ineffective must be placed on a performance improvement plan the following year. An evaluator may put a building administrator on a performance improvement plan at any time during the year if concerns arise, regardless of where the building administrators are in the evaluation process.
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.