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. With input from more than 200 educators and more than 100 research studies on principals' approaches to school improvement, AIR designed the Five Essential Practices of School Leadership framework. These practices are as follows: (1) Build shared purpose. The leader develops a compelling, shared organizational vision and assures that the vision is "lived" in the daily work of educators. (2) Focus on learning. The leader engages in instructional leadership to develop and maintain student access to appropriate, ambitious, and strong instructional programs focused on academic excellence and social-emotional development. (3) Manage organizational resources. The leader acts strategically and systematically to create safe and supportive conditions for better teaching and learning by aligning financial assets, human resources, data, and other resources. (4) Collaborate with community. The leader assures that parents and community organizations are engaged with the school. (5) Lead with integrity. The leader models professionalism by acting with integrity and making his or her learning visible. The framework is designed to support principals in developing their own professional goals and to provide them with an approach for reflection on their practices, but other stakeholders and professionals in the field can take full advantage of this tool.