The state of Massachusetts is in the midst of developing new standards for school principals. Previously, the state had five generic competencies that educational administration programs “checked off” for certification. Now, the state not only wants new clearly articulated standards aligned with current research and the national Interstate School Leader License Consortium (ISLLC) standards, but they also want to develop an assessment to evaluate the standards. So far so good. A team of us at the University of Massachusetts- Amherst were asked to begin drafting the new standards. Rather than looking as a list of things all principals “should know,” we began a conversation about what school leaders should know, understand, and be able to do at different stages of development. We developed three benchmark times; We called these T-1, T-2, and T-3. T-1 is the candidates’ competency in any given standard at the time of entrance into a certification program. T2 we called the “Apprenticeship.” Here we would evaluate candidates as they completed the certification program. Finally, T-3 would focus on the in-practice professional. That is, what would we expect of any given standard of a principal 3-5 years into his/her work.
Next, we developed three overarching standards: (1) Leadership for Learning, (2) Organizational Management and Operations, and (3) Community Partnerships. In each dispositions, knowledge and skills, and key practices are refined at the specific level of development (T-1, T-2, and T-3). Here is an example of a key practice in the Leadership for Learning domain:
T-1 (Current Professional Teacher): Works in concert with the schools vision for learning that prioritizes high quality learning and teaching as the core work of their work as a teacher.
T-2 (Principal Licensure Candidate): Articulates a personal vision for learning that prioritizes high quality learning and teaching as the core work of the school and plans for the facilitation of its development.
T-3 (In-Practice Principal): Facilitates development of a shared vision that prioritizes high quality learning and teaching as the core work of the school.
Notice the subtle difference between the standards. We wanted to make sure the language of the standards matched what we expected of principal candidates at their various stages of development. Too often standards are stated in a manner than only master in-service principals could meet. This made our next task a bit more manageable- assessing the standards.
We have tentatively called this phase of the work a “360-degree” principal evaluation” for candidates at the T-2 benchmark. The 360-degree principal evaluation will be designed with input from representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Education, program coordinators from principal certification programs across the state, as well as current school principals and superintendents. The 360-degree principal evaluation currently has three components:
1. Certification Program Completion Rubric- designed to assess student portfolios that demonstrate proficiency of the new principal standards at the T-2 benchmark. This is to be completed by the program faculty;
2. Field Internship Rubric- designed to allow on-site principal supervisors to assess candidates performance and readiness at the T-2 benchmark; and,
3. On-Line State Assessment- designed to assess knowledge, skills, and dispositions of principal standards at the T-2 benchmark.
We are currently looking for feedback on the over all design. When we were first approached to do this work, the state clearly had a paper-pencil assessment in mind. We feel strongly that other measures are also important. But, are we still missing critical elements in our evaluation as principal candidates complete a program (T-2 benchmark)? Should the on-line assessment target only knowledge? And, how do we assess dispositions? As you can see we are still developing this and would welcome comments from those of you who have already completed your certification as principals.
After completion of the 360-degree principal evaluation, we will pilot the system in Springfield, MA and Boston, MA. We will then begin work on a 360-degree principal evaluation at the T-3 benchmark. Our hope here is to align what programs are teaching and evaluating with what districts are expecting and evaluating once the candidates are in-practice.
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