Principal Observation Tool Strengthens School District Leadership

Principal observation tools are used to accurately evaluate principal performance by helping principal supervisors and coaches improve instructional leadership. As part of a territory-wide effort to improve principal evaluation in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Tammie Knights, an AIR senior technical assistance consultant and a former principal herself, watches principals deliver feedback to teachers on their classroom practice, either in real time or on video.

The research-based tool described here, part of AIR’s suite of school leadership evaluation tools, was validated by more than 150 principals and superintendents, and contributes to evidence-based coaching and performance evaluations for principals.

Guided by the tool, principal coaches and supervisors follow a structured process to observe principals’ practice and help principals develop the core skills necessary to give teachers consistent, high-quality, and actionable instructional feedback. The Instructional Feedback Observation Tool is built around five core indicators identified by research as central to providing good instructional feedback:

• Use of evidence
• Professional interactions
• Differentiated questioning
• Leading conversations
• Written feedback