The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) makes unprecedented demands on states, school
districts, and schools to raise academic achievement and to improve low-achieving schools.
Many believe that schools are only as good as the principal leading the school. There is evidence
that the format and processes used in principal evaluation often vary from one state to another,
and even among school districts within a state. The purpose of this study is to examine the status
of principal performance evaluation in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The study reviews and
compares all school divisions’ descriptions of principal evaluation systems, information
collection strategies, and schedules for information collection and evaluation of principals.
The primary purpose of this study was to describe the evaluation process for principals in
the Commonwealth of Virginia. An attempt was made to (1) find out what procedures school
divisions used to evaluate principal performance, (2) determine how the evaluation process
varied by divisions type (i.e., suburban, urban, and rural), size and location, (3) find out the
structures in place for high-performing principals to share effective practices, (4) determine the
strategies used to support principals who are evaluated as needing improvement, (5) analyze
documents that cover policies and procedures governing principal evaluation, and (6) to present a
summary and analysis of data with implications for further research.
This study was conducted first by analyzing a questionnaire regarding assessment
practices currently being used by school divisions received from 91 school divisions; second, by