Evaluation of Principals

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MESPA Executive Director P. Fred Storti

December 2011 --
Report from MESPA Executive Director P. Fred Storti

The Evaluation of Principals:
Is leadership art or science?

Leadership is an elusive concept. Is leadership an art or a science? Should we evaluate the leader’s personal qualities? Or should we evaluate what the leader accomplishes, regardless of personality or leadership style?

Evaluating leadership has become a national priority. It is a perplexing issue because principals play many roles: master teacher and instructional leader, mentor and curriculum coach, data analyzer and professional learning community leader, resource manager, disciplinarian, civic leader, change agent and culture creator – as well as role model to students and staff.

The principalship is a balancing act. On one end are stacked the needs of teachers, students and parents, and on the other end the needs and expectations of district administrators, the school board, and the mandate of state and federal governments. This balancing act is complicated by challenging socioeconomic conditions, a lack of sustainable funding, and increasing standards-driven expectations layered on by district, state, and federal government.

Leadership presents some paradoxes. Take the example of two principals who appear to have similar attributes and are equally skilled; yet, one succeeds while the other fails. Conversely, two principals may be similarly successful, but reveal very different strengths and weaknesses. Principals are supposed to be caring and compassionate, but they also must maintain high standards and hold students, teachers, and staff accountable. Decisiveness is a quality in the eyes of some, but can be received by others as unwillingness to collaborate or compromise.

An evaluation process. Eighteen months ago, MESPA -- in partnership the Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP), the Minnesota Association of School Administrators (MASA), and Minnesota Board of School Administrators (MN BOSA) -- set out to develop a performance-based, high quality, principal evaluation program. The following basic questions served as a framework for our task force.

What is the purpose of principal evaluation?
Who should evaluate?
What should we evaluate?
What standards or criteria should we use?
What evidence should we consider?

In Minnesota we know that principal quality is not merely in the eyes of the beholder, but has been clearly articulated in Minnesota K-12 Principal Competencies. These 96 elements of effective leadership are embedded in the state statute and they drive the personal and professional development of Minnesota’s school principals. These elements of effective leadership are embodied in the 15 higher education institutions’ principal preparation programs.

We distilled these 96 elements into Seven Core Competencies that would be used as a professional growth and evaluation model. These seven core competencies comprise what the superintendent/designee and the principal should measure for evaluation and professional growth.

Strategic leadership
Instructional leadership
Managerial leadership
Cultural leadership
Communication leadership
School community leadership
Ethical and professional leadership.

A rubric was developed with an emphasis on reflection and evidence. Nine Operating Principles were developed to guide principals and their superintendents in this performance-based process that focus not only on evaluation, but also on professional growth. To download the complete document, “The Evaluation of Minnesota’s School Principals,” go to MESPA Members Only at www.mespa.net <http://www.mespa.net> .

We distributed this process, which we hold up as a state model not as a mandate, to about 2100 school principals and superintendents in February 2011. Since that time numerous presentations have been made to legislators, business groups, and higher education institutions. Already several school districts are adopting and/or modifying the process.

Legislative mandate. Both the Senate and House Education committees embraced this evaluation work during the 2011 Legislative session and through Minnesota statute charged the Minnesota Commissioner of Education, MESPA, and MASSP (secondary principals) to convene a group of recognized, qualified, and interested stakeholders -- including principals, superintendents, teachers, school board members, parents, and other stakeholders – to develop a performance-based system model for annually evaluating school principals.

As of this writing, the Principal Evaluation Working Group has had an initial meeting to review the intended legislation and learn of the model we developed last year. The group is charged with reporting to the 2012 Legislature by February 1.

Is leadership an art or a science? Wikipedia says: “Leadership has been described as the process of social influences in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task.”

Alan Keith of Genentech states: ”leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen.” I believe leadership is both art and science and extraordinary things happen every day in Minnesota schools!

Mission: The Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association is dedicated to promoting and improving education for children and youth, strengthening the role as educational leader for elementary and middle level principals, and collaborating with partners in education to assist in achieving these goals.

Leading schools toward excellence through the MESPA vision to be the premiere resource for preparing today's principals for tomorrow and a strong leading voice for public education.

Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association

1667 North Snelling Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108

651.999.7310 MN toll free 800.642.6807

Fax: 651.999.7311 E-mail: mespa@mespa.net