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 South Dakota from the State of the States 2022: Teacher and Principal Evaluation Policies report.
Objective Student Growth Measures: South Dakota requires that principal evaluations be based in part on measures of school growth, whose rating based on: 1) percentage of teachers under a principal's supervision attaining expected or high student growth ratings on teachers' evals; and 2) a school's School Performance Index key indicator ratings, the school's academic progress goal, or some combination.
Link to Teacher Effectiveness/Instructional Leadership: South Dakota's policy does not explicitly ensure a link between principal evaluations and teacher effectiveness/instructional leadership. Although the standards for principals include an instructional leadership domain, districts have the flexibility in choosing which domains/components they use in their evaluations
Improvement Plans: South Dakota no longer requires improvement plans for principals rated less than effective.
Surveys: South Dakota explicitly allows the use of stakeholder surveys (parents, teachers, students, and community) for the purposes of principal evaluation.
Ensure that principals receiving less-than-effective ratings are placed on a professional improvement plan.
South Dakota 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.
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, South Dakota should evaluate its principals—to some degree—on teacher effectiveness and instructional leadership.
South Dakota was helpful in providing NCTQ with the facts necessary for this analysis.
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.