[author: Kendra Berner]

The Performance Evaluation Reform Act (P.A. 96-861) requires ISBE to develop a model principal evaluation plan. Districts may use the model, modify the model, or develop their own principal evaluation plan, so long as the district’s evaluation meets the requirements of the Act and the administrative rules established by ISBE, which are not yet final. ISBE has also provided non-regulatory guidance regarding all components of PERA.

Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, districts must evaluate principals and assistant principals annually (excluding assistant principals in Chicago Public Schools). The evaluation must provide ratings of Excellent, Proficient, Needs Improvement, or Unsatisfactory, and be based on two main components: principal practice and student growth. Principal evaluators are required to be pre-qualified through a program developed or approved by ISBE. Principal evaluations must be completed each year by March 1^st, or July 1^st for CPS.

How is the Principal Practice rating determined?

Districts are required to use an instrument that is aligned with the Illinois Standards for Principal Evaluation. The model uses a rubric that breaks each standard into several indicators that are further divided into elements or descriptors. The model describes how a principal would demonstrate each level of performance for each descriptor and provides rules to convert the individual descriptor scores into an overall rating for principal practice.

Evaluators must conduct at least two formal school observations, each of which must be followed by written feedback to the principal within ten working days. By February 1^st (June 1^st for CPS), the principal must complete a self-assessment using the standards, which the evaluator must use as part of the overall evaluation of principal practice. The principal practice rating must comprise at least 50% of the final principal performance rating.

How is the Student Growth Rating Determined?

By October 1^st, the evaluator must inform the principal of the assessments and growth targets that will be used to determine the student growth rating. The assessments must include at least two standardized assessments given state- or district-wide. For schools where the majority of students do not take such standardized assessments, the evaluator may use at least two assessments that are determined to be rigorous and tied to the course curriculum. For assistant principals, the evaluator may choose measurements that are aligned to the duties of the assistant principal (e.g., attendance, discipline referrals).

The model assigns weights to the chosen assessment measures and a scale to determine the principal’s student growth rating based on the school’s performance on the assessments relative to the targets. The student growth rating must comprise at least 25% of the final principal performance rating for 2012-2013 and 2013-2014, and at least 30% thereafter.

How is the Final Principal Performance Rating Determined?

The model evaluation assigns the remaining 25% of the principal performance rating to other student outcomes. These include attainment on academic assessments, sub-group performance data on academic assessments, attendance, graduation rate, percentage of students on track for graduation, attendance, and discipline information. A matrix is used to arrive at the final principal performance rating. Districts might alternatively use a mathematical formula to combine the principal practice and student growth scores into a principal performance rating based on the weights the district has assigned each component.