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 Virginia from the State of the States 2022: Teacher and Principal Evaluation Policies report.
Objective student growth measures: Virginia requires that student academic progress be a "significant" part of principal evaluations.
Link to teacher effectiveness/instructional leadership: Virginia links principal evaluations to teacher effectiveness through its standard pertaining to instructional personnel: "The principal fosters effective human resources management by assisting with selection and induction, and by supporting, evaluating, and retaining quality instructional and support personnel."
Improvement plans: Virginia leaves the implementation of improvement plans to the discretion of the evaluator. If a performance improvement plan is implemented, it must be formally structured and require improvement due to less-than-proficient performance.
Surveys: Virginia explicitly recommends teacher and staff surveys for the purposes of principal evaluation.
Ensure that principals receiving less-than-effectiveeffective ratings are placed on a professional improvement plan.
Virginia 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.
Virginia was helpful in providing NCTQ with the facts necessary for this analysis. The state added that each principal receives a summative evaluation rating, which is determined by weighting the first six standards equally at 10 percent each, and the seventh standard, Student Academic Progress, accounting for 40 percent.
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.