District Leadership: Performance and Accountability

The Broad Prize Framework for School District Excellence

Performance and Accountability Requirements

The district provides and enforces a clear set of expectations for staff performance.
The district meets all federal, state and local accountability expectations.
The district holds schools accountable and supports schools in improving their performance.

Best Practice Performance and Accountability Requirements Documents

Evaluating and Supporting School Administrators – Broward County Public Schools

Broward County Public Schools have implemented a comprehensive system designed to communicate clear performance expectations for school administrators and to identify and support struggling administrators. The responsibility for assessing the performance of principals —and for providing support to those who need additional help— falls to the area director, who oversees multiple schools.

1 – District Interventions for Struggling Principals Overview of Broward’s approach to supporting struggling principals.
What to Notice Broward empowers the area director —a type of regional superintendent— to determine when a principal is not meeting performance expectations. The area director considers different types of evidence in his or her evaluation: test scores, site observations, audits, teacher input, satisfaction surveys, etc. Principals are offered many types of support in their effort to meet improvement expectations.	Questions to Ask What percentage of principals has a professional improvement plan at any given point? Of these, how many are eventually dismissed? How many are able to turn around their performance? How does the district measure the success of the intervention programs? Does the district offer area directors any more specific guidance about performance expectations for principals? If so, how is it communicated? What kind of training does the district provide to area directors about assisting struggling principals? How were these interventions identified?
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2 – Administrator Performance Planning and Appraisal System Evaluation Tool Evaluation tool for school administrators.
What to Notice The area director uses this evaluation tool to assess the performance of a school principal in seven key areas: (1) leadership, (2) information analysis, (3) strategic quality planning, (4) customer focus, (5) human resources, (6) management of processes, and (7) operational results and student achievement. Notice that Broward uses a three-point scale: highly effective, effective and ineffective. Each area requires a rating, plus text comments and a description of the principal’s “focus for professional growth.”	Questions to Ask How did Broward select the seven areas of performance? Were any principals involved in the development of the tool? How frequently are principals evaluated using this tool? What kinds of interim discussions occur between the area director and the principal to provide feedback? How effective is the evaluation process in guiding professional growth? How do principals and area directors use it as an opportunity to reflect on past performance and agree on improvement plans? What percentage of principals falls into each of the rating categories? How effective is the evaluation process in identifying low performers? What are the consequences of poor performance?
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3 – Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) One-page worksheet for principals to articulate improvement plan in an area of “deficiency.”
What to Notice For principals who are determined to have a performance concern, this worksheet allows the area director to articulate a specific improvement plan. Notice that each “area of deficiency” requires a separate improvement plan. The area director specifies the activities necessary to demonstrate improvement, along with a timeline, and the principal is given the opportunity to respond to the area director’s assessment and recommendations.	Questions to Ask What are the benefits and disadvantages of using a word like “deficiency” to describe an area in which an employee is not meeting the expectations for their position? How effective is the PIP in improving performance? What challenges has the district faced in its communication or implementation? Can the area director describe specific quantitative targets for performance (e.g. test scores)? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach? How much time will an area director spend with a principal who has been designated as having performance deficiencies? What types of training do area directors receive in coaching and mentoring?
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4 – Manual of Evaluation Procedures Handbook of policies and procedures for the evaluation of school and district administrators.
What to Notice At the beginning of the manual, the district outlines the purpose of the Administrator Performance Planning and Appraisal System (APPAS). These goals are framed positively, focusing on the communication of clear expectations and the provision of effective feedback. Later, the manual provides much more detailed performance expectations, as well as clear descriptions of what “highly effective” vs. “effective” vs. “ineffective” performance looks like. Finally, the guide outlines the five stages of the APPAS process, starting with orientation and ending with professional development.	Questions to Ask How consistent is the process for providing new principals with an orientation on the performance planning and appraisal system? How are administrators made aware of the performance expectations which apply to their position? How does the district ensure that different supervisors are applying standards consistently? What process exists for area directors to conduct “calibration” meetings in which they compare evaluation ratings and try to ensure consistency? How does the district assess the effectiveness of evaluation procedures? How is principal feedback collected?
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Intervening in Low-Performing Schools – Aldine Independent School District

Aldine Independent School District intervenes aggressively in schools that perform below district expectations. Such schools are designated “accelerated campuses” and are provided intensive instructional support by content-specific program directors.

1 – Overview of Strategies for Intervening in Low-Performing Schools One-page description of the district’s “accelerated campus” program for underperforming schools.
What to Notice Aldine uses prior year results on the state test —the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS)— to identify schools that are in need of additional support. Schools with low overall scores or low subgroup scores are designated “accelerated campuses” and are assigned content-specific program directors for improvement planning. The process ensures that the program directors provide progress reports every six weeks to the assistant superintendent and executive director of curriculum and instruction.	Questions to Ask What experience does a program director typically have? How are they selected and trained? What best practices has Aldine identified among its program directors in their efforts to turn around schools? What are the implications of remaining an accelerated campus over time? Who is responsible for making difficult judgments about the performance of the principal? If a principal needs to be replaced, who is involved in the decision? How does Aldine track the progress of its accelerated campuses over time? What are the characteristics of the schools that have been able to improve their student achievement relatively quickly?
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2 – Campus Intervention Team (CIT) Sample Report Final report of the team responsible for conducting an on-site evaluation of an underperforming school and formulating recommendations for improvement.
What to Notice Aldine uses this state-mandated process to identify key needs for a struggling campus and to recommend specific actions that will improve student achievement. Notice that the Campus Intervention Team includes members both internal to and external to the school, ensuring objectivity. Also, the report specifically focuses on key variables that may have a direct impact on student achievement: discipline, teacher quality, parental involvement, etc.	Questions to Ask How does this state-mandated process enhance or support district-specific strategies? How does Aldine determine the members on the school’s Campus Intervention Team? What does the district look for in potential team members? How long does the evaluation last? How does the team balance different fact-finding activities, such as staff interviews, parent interviews, classroom walkthroughs, etc.? Does the team have any implementation responsibilities after the evaluation report has been completed? What processes are in place to ensure that recommendations are acted upon?
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3 – Underperforming School Professional Development Plan Memo and attached summary describing professional development efforts for an accelerated campus.
What to Notice Aldine district staff intervene very aggressively in schools that exhibit poor student achievement results. This document summarizes the high-intensity professional development supports deployed to an underperforming school. Notice that each department has at least five meetings with district staff over the course of one semester. The “comments” column allows the program director to highlight successes and draw attention to teachers with attendance or attitude problems.	Questions to Ask What are the connotations of being identified as an accelerated campus? How does the district manage these connotations amongst teachers and principals on these campuses? How does the district identify best practices for leading productive professional development sessions with teachers who know that their school has been identified as underperforming? What are the consequences for teachers who do not attend required professional development sessions? How does Aldine track the success of these professional development sessions?
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Intervening in Low-Performing Schools – Socorro Idependent School District

Schools in Socorro that are identified as low-performing through the state accountability system (either officially or on the verge of receiving the designation) are classified as “priority campuses.” To support priority campuses, the district assigns Technical Assistance Teams (TATs) that provide intense guidance to the campuses.

1 – Technical Assistance Teams (TAT) Sample intervention plan developed for a low-performing school by a TAT
What to Notice This sample TAT intervention form illustrates how the team works to identify needs and develop strategies to provide targeted support for priority schools. The first step provides a snapshot of the areas of concern through state assessment data, disaggregated by student groups. Once the problem area is identified, the team proceeds to drill down further by analyzing individual student data and identifying specific objectives that were not mastered and by considering contributory factors that might contribute to low performance. Those factors are then used to identify strategies intended to mitigate those factors. The form itself is well laid out and clearly takes the user through a specific process of identifying the problem, selecting interventions, and then identifying targets for those interventions. The targets are further articulated into benchmarks, strategies, resources, and timelines. The strategy planning portion in Step 4 begins that process by asking a set of specific questions like, “Will the campus/district make any staffing changes?” Starting with these prescribed questions puts the onus of intense interventions like replacing a principal more on the process rather than on the TAT members.	Questions to Ask Who serves on a TAT team? How many members serve on a TAT team? How are those members selected? How are they trained? Do TAT members develop strategies for a given campus through consensus, or is the work divided by specialty area? How is the school leadership involved in this process? Who monitors the intervention plan? What authority does the TAT have to require the implementation of the plan? What is the TAT’s role after developing the plan? How long does a team remain assigned to a low-performing school? How does the district determine the success of TAT intervention plans, or the strategies within TAT intervention plans?
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Measuring District Performance Against Benchmarks – New York City Department of Education

Many high-performing districts are data-driven, meaning that they collect and analyze student achievement data to identify opportunities to improve instruction. One component of a data-driven strategy is internal benchmarking, comparing the relative performance of schools or classrooms within the district. Another important component—reflected in these documents from the New York City Department of Education—is external benchmarking, which allows district staff to compare the district’s performance to other districts in order to identify areas of strength or opportunities for improvement.

1 – Graduation Rates Compares the district’s graduation rate for high school students to two external benchmarks.
What to Notice As a district with over one million enrolled students and a high degree of poverty, the New York school system might regard itself as a unique entity, incomparable to other local districts. But this document shows that the district takes external benchmarking seriously. Here they compare their performance on graduation rates to two different benchmarks: (1) the Big 4, which consists of the other four large urban districts in New York State, and (2) the rest of the state. Notice that, even with significant gains in recent years, New York City’s graduation rate is still less than 60 percent.	Questions to Ask How does New York City calculate graduation rates? Does it capture the full population of potential students? Or does it undercount them? How confident is the district in the accuracy of the numbers? Where does New York City get the state-wide data? Who is responsible for collecting the data, analyzing it, and creating external benchmarking reports? Is there a specific department that is assigned this function by the chancellor? What kinds of initiatives or changes might grow out of this type of analysis? How does New York City use this information to improve the lives of students?
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2 – District’s Performance on State Math Assessments Compares the district’s performance on the state math assessment to external benchmarks in the state.
What to Notice Like the previous document, this presentation compares New York City’s performance to a series of benchmarks within the state. Specifically, it looks at performance on the state math assessment, comparing the New York City schools to the Big 4 (other urban districts in the state), the rest of the state, and the rest of the state with New York City taken out. Notice that, because New York City is so large, the statewide numbers are heavily influenced by the performance of the district. In order to make a better comparison, they subtract New York City from the state numbers.	Questions to Ask What is the “best” external benchmark for the New York City schools? If you were the superintendent, which comparison would you value most? How does New York City compare to other urban districts in their state? What do you think accounts for the difference? Where does New York City get the state-wide data? Who is responsible for collecting the data, analyzing it, and creating external benchmarking reports? Is there a specific department that is assigned this function by the chancellor? What kinds of initiatives or changes might grow out of this type of analysis? How does New York City use this information to improve the lives of students?
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Providing Tools and Information to System Stakeholders – Broward County Public Schools

Broward County Public Schools uses several tools in addition to the volumes of data provided by the state’s impressive K-20 data warehouse. To ensure teachers and leaders know where to focus interventions and support, the district created multiple methods for collecting and reviewing various types of data. In addition to distributing data, the district provides a user-friendly web-based portal to connect educators and other stakeholders to the latest instructional technologies.

1 – Broward Enterprise Education Portal (BEEP) A PowerPoint presentation outlining the district’s library of digital and instructional resources for teaching and learning.
What to Notice This presentation summarizes the navigation and content of the district’s portal for digital resources: BEEP. Through BEEP, educators can access a wide array of digital media and data, including engaging video lessons, district benchmark assessments, Virtual Counselor, curriculum guides and lesson plans, bubble answer sheets, and instructional materials. The portal itself has a straightforward navigation system on the left, and four sub-portals in the middle divided into different stakeholder groups. The portal serves as a cohesive system for accessing and aligning data and digital media content within one easily accessible system. This well-organized system serves as a model for helping educators employ an underutilized instructional tool: digital media. The detailed user statistics at the beginning illustrate an important evaluation step for understanding which tools teachers value and most frequently use. The amount of information and instructional support available on BEEP shows the district’s commitment to infusing technology in the classroom.	Questions to Ask How are different stakeholders trained to use BEEP? Are there training sessions for external stakeholders like parents? How do the four targeted user groups use BEEP? Does the district encourage or “market” its use? Do teachers use all parts of BEEP? Do they use the media resources? Do they believe it is a good instructional tool for students? How has BEEP impacted the overall use of technology in the classroom? Do teachers understand how to structure lessons around video material? How is the instructional material selected for BEEP? Are teachers involved in the process? How does the district’s student information management system (TERM) relate to or interface with BEEP? Is student information from TERM, like attendance or discipline (pulled from the state’s warehouse), included in BEEP? Who developed and designed BEEP? How is BEEP funded? What is the state’s involvement in the system? How is Virtual Counselor used? Who are its main users?
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2 – Required Formative Assessments Document explaining the history and purpose of district-mandated formative assessments, as well as statistical research analyzing their predictive validities.
What to Notice This report details the development and purpose of the district’s formative assessments and analyzes student performance from those assessments. The data analysis discussion points out potential concerns with the reading assessment, illustrating the district’s commitment to continuous improvement through rigorous data analyses.	Questions to Ask Who developed this report? How is it disseminated? How will concerns highlighted from the benchmark analyses be addressed and by whom? Who developed the formative assessments? How are the developers selected? How long does it take to develop assessments for one subject and grade level? When are they written? Are developers compensated? What is the process for ensuring that test items are valid and reliable? How soon and in what form do the teachers receive the assessment results? Is there a standard for how teachers use and respond to the results? How did the teachers react when the benchmark tests were first introduced? How has that reaction changed over time?
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3 – Summary Data Reports Document illustrating sample reports populated with state and district benchmark results and other forms of student data.
What to Notice Results from the district’s benchmark assessments are used in two of the district’s additional data tools: Above the Clouds and Middle School Instructional Analysis System (MIDAS). Both provide additional performance data culled from various sources. Notice that most reports provide at least a three-year longitudinal view of academic performance, and that MIDAS includes student discipline and teacher data. Both systems offer multiple reports and query options illustrated by summary graphics. The Student Learning Gains report on page 6, Upper Level Likely report, and the Instructional Prescription reports are good examples of visually informative reports that capture important information on the lower and upper boundaries of student learning needs.	Questions to Ask What are the costs associated with these systems? How were they selected? What, if any, input did teachers and administrators have in the development of these systems? Are they maintained entirely by the district, or do they require additional support from the vendors? How are the various reports integrated with reports provided by the state? How are teachers and administrators trained to use these systems and reports? Do they use them frequently? Is their use mandated or voluntary? What formal or informal structures are provided for teachers and administrators to review and respond to reports from these systems? What other stakeholders have access to/review these data?
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Setting School Performance Goals – New York City Department of Education

The New York City Department of Education places a strong emphasis on goal-setting, for both principals and schools. Intervention processes are designed to help turnaround schools that are chronically failing or simply struggling.

1 – Developing a School-Wide Action Plan Leads school leaders through a process for developing a school action plan to improve student achievement.
What to Notice The tool starts with “areas in need of strengthening” and then maps strategies, resources and benchmarks to these critical areas. The end goal is, of course, evidence that student performance on state and district assessments is improving.	Questions to Ask What is the office of academic intervention services? How is this office staffed? And how many staff members are available to work directly with struggling schools? How are school-site team members identified? What is the typical make-up of an ASA team? What training do district staff members and school-site personnel receive in how to use the tool effectively? How often does a school-site team revisit the tool and progress made?
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2 – Sample Letters to Principals Re: Goal Setting Provides regional district staff with template letters regarding academic goal setting to be sent to principals three times a year.
What to Notice New York has built its Principal Performance Review (PPR) system around goals set by the principals themselves. The primary area of focus is instructional leadership, as evidenced by improvements in student achievement data. Principals also set goals in the following areas: organizational leadership, professional development and community relations. Notice that the first letter is sent to principals in early October, to ensure that goals are set as early as possible in the year. The midyear letter is generally positive and encouraging, but the regional superintendent uses this opportunity to focus the principal –once again–on specific goals that may need more attention before the end of the year. The final letter of the year is even more positive, starting with recognition of the principal’s accomplishments, but also including a preliminary list of possible improvement goals for the following year.	Questions to Ask What are the advantages of encouraging principals to take the lead in setting the goals upon which they will be evaluated? What are the challenges of this approach? When should the goal-setting process start? How specific should the goals be? How much are these template letters personalized? What is the most effective mix of encouragement, recognition of past accomplishments and identification of areas for potential improvement? What would the personalized letter look like for a chronically underperforming principal? For a first-year principal who struggled quite a bit, but who showed promise? For a veteran principal whose school had not shown much improvement over the past few years?
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3 – Interventions in Low-Performing Schools Describes full range of New York City’s programs to turn around failing schools.
What to Notice New York City places its intervention strategies within the context of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, as well as state efforts to implement standards and assessments. To address the problem of chronically failing schools, the district has developed a coordinated restructuring plan which includes school redesigns, closures, openings and the formation of “small learning communities” within larger schools. In addition, the office of school improvement and restructuring (OSIR) offers intensive support and coaching for struggling schools in need of assistance. Professional development and additional financial resources are specifically targeted to schools in the midst of a turnaround. A final section specifically addresses NCLB issues.	Questions to Ask How is a school judged to be failing and in need of restructuring? What is a school redesign? How radical are the changes? And who is primarily responsible for turning the school’s performance around? What qualities does the district seek in a principal to be placed into one of these schools? How large is the OSIR, and how many employees are available to assist schools? What kind of background do these “turnaround specialists” have?
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