This quantitative, non-experimental study explored the differences between principals' perceived level of influence evaluation barriers have on the accuracy of teacher evaluations. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from Montana principals regarding their perceptions of: (a) teacher performance combinations (b) the strength…

In this review, I examined the last two decades of research on data use in education to outline the ways in which principals used data to inform their own leadership practices. I found three themes: first, student achievement data were the most widespread form of data that principals used; second, principals' work has been reshaped by teacher…

One key mechanism through which evaluation facilitates teachers' growth is principals' feedback during teacher evaluation. In this study, we examined the relationship between teachers' perceptions of feedback quality and improvement in their instructional practices. We used student report--a meaningful but rarely used measure--to measure the…

Instructional leadership has become the dominant paradigm in principal preparation and professional learning. In parallel, teacher evaluation has risen in prominence. Using interviews from 84 principals in 23 districts and three states, we asked how teacher evaluation influenced principals' reported priorities and conceptions of instructional…

This phenomenological qualitative study explores how public school pre-kindergarten teachers in Florida perceive their principals' understanding of early learning standards and developmentally appropriate practices. The problem addressed is that prekindergarten teachers are evaluated by their principals using state-approved evaluation rubrics…

Principals can affect several consequential schooling processes and outcomes. However, their effectiveness varies substantially and is distributed across schools inequitably, underscoring the importance of effective principal professional development (PPD), which begins by using needs assessments to inform PPD content. A researcher-practitioner…

Traditional teacher evaluations -- full-lesson observations, write-ups, and debriefs -- are time-consuming and largely ineffective. As a principal, Kim Marshall found that mini-observations -- short, frequent, unannounced classroom visits, each followed by a face-to-face coaching conversation and brief narrative summary -- actually improved…

Participating in professional learning and seeking professional growth opportunities are characteristics of effective teachers (Guskey, 2000; Polk, 2006). This study investigated how a teacher evaluation system can promote and encourage the professional growth of teachers. Specifically, the study sought to provide a better understanding of how…

This study explored principals' reactions to findings from a survey regarding their teachers' evaluation beliefs. As participants in a longitudinal study, these principals were invited to focus group meetings to discuss the teacher survey data, which were sent to them for review prior to the meetings. They were asked to consider data that were…

Classroom walkthroughs are the consistent and systematic observation of instruction in the classroom, and despite research indicating classroom walkthroughs drive student achievement and promote learning, high school principals fail to implement effective classroom walkthroughs on a consistent basis, resulting in teachers not receiving enough…

When it comes to generating better practices, feedback--a fair representation of professional performance--plays a crucial role due to its transformational power of enhancing skills, which helps ensure high-quality teaching in the classroom. However, principals' lack of time, lack of knowledge of curriculum content, and lack of training are the…

In 2012 Massachusetts implemented a new educator evaluation system designed to create a "cycle of continuous improvement" that includes self-assessment, goal setting, evidence collecting, and evaluation. This new system was supported by more than twenty years of educational research demonstrating that highly skilled teachers remain one…

Market-based reforms, such as high-stakes teacher evaluation models aimed at improving teacher instructional practice, have not addressed student achievement concerns, especially among marginalized student demographic groups. Research contends that principal instructional feedback to teachers is a worthy strategy to improve teacher instructional…

This phenomenological research study was based on elementary school teachers who felt unsupported by their principals, due to lack of frequent reviews and pertinent evaluations. In previous research studies, researchers stated that many elementary teachers were frustrated, changed schools frequently, retired early, or left the teaching profession…

The present study examined the concurrent validity between two different classroom observational assessments, the Danielson Framework for Teaching (FFT: Danielson 2013) and the Classroom Strategies Assessment System (CSAS; Reddy & Dudek 2014). Twenty-four administrators from 8 high-poverty charter schools conducted 324 annual teacher…