EDUCATOR TALENT Management at American Institutes for Research

Principals ’ roles have expanded significantly over the past decade. Today, these leaders face challenges including new learning standards, more rigorous accountability, and complex cultural and social issues including increased security in schools. Many principals feel underprepared to meet the new demands of their jobs. Most states and districts scramble to provide professional development to support principals, but principal evaluation is often lost amid competing priorities. Evaluation is an important method for supporting principal growth, communicating performance expectations to principals, and improving leadership practice. It provides leaders with evidence for reflection—a critical first step for professional learning and development. To help school leaders achieve their goals, American Institutes for Research (AIR) has engaged with educators at the state level to design the Five Essential Practices of School Leadership framework. Frameworks are the backbone of any performance evaluation system, identifying levels of performance and the professional practices that matter most. Unlike state or national standards (e.g., the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium standards) that broadly describe what principals should do, frameworks describe levels of performance in observable and measurable terms. AIR and its clients are using this framework for principal coaching, self-reflection, and performance evaluation to facilitate principal growth with accountability. The Missing Link in the Leadership Talent Pipeline: Principal Evaluation Some say great leaders are born, not made. Yet increasingly, research recognizes that principals ’ practices develop over time through experience and reflection. Many professions (e.g., doctors, lawyers, military) establish formal learning processes, such as apprenticeships, for developing talent across the career continuum