Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Principal Practice
The largest single component of an administrator’s overall evaluation is based on observations of their practice. Districts have the flexibility to choose from a growing list of state-approved instruments.
Principal, Assistant Principal or Vice Principal
Observation Requirements
- Tenured
- Two recommended observations each school year.
- Non-Tenured
- Three required observations each school year.
Principals, assistant principals and vice principals who end the school year with an Ineffective or Partially Effective rating have an additional observation the following year as part of their Corrective Action Plan (CAP).
Observation Details
Evidence of practice may be gathered through:
- Conferencing following instructional rounds
- Observation of instruction leadership events including, but not limited to:
- Professional development activities
- Post observation conference
- Data team meeting
- Stakeholder engagement activities such as:
- Parent conference
- Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) meeting
- Conferencing around selected artifacts or data
New Jersey Principal Evaluation for Professional Learning
The New Jersey Principal Evaluation for Professional Learning (NJPEPL) Process and NJPEPL Observation Instrument were developed through broad stakeholder engagement and a two-year pilot process. As an integrated system of principal evaluation, NJPEPL offers a simpler, yet powerful approach for the evaluation and professional development of school leaders.
Districts may choose to use the state Principal Evaluation Leadership Instrument for principals or a state-approved evaluation instrument for assistant and vice principals as an additional measure of the practice of administrators. These instruments are optional and measure how well principals, assistant principals, and vice principals:
- Prepare teachers for success (principals only)
- Build collaboration (principals only)
- Fulfill requirements of the evaluation system
- Provide feedback, coaching, and planning for growth
- Ensure reliable, valid observation results
- Ensure high-quality Student Growth Objectives (SGO)
Local discretion can be used to assign a weight for the evaluation leadership instrument as a component of the practice score for school leaders.
Principal, Assistant Principal or Vice Principal Evaluation Instruments
- Focal Point Principal Evaluation Instrument
- H.E.A.T. Principal Evaluation Instrument
- Lenape’s Principal Evaluation System
- Leverage Leadership Performance Model
- Marzano’s School Leadership Evaluation Model
- Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) Balanced Leadership: Principal Evaluation System
- Multidimensional Leadership Performance System
- Multidimensional Principal Performance Rubric
- New Jersey Principal Evaluation for Professional Learning (NJPEPL)
- New Leaders Principal Evaluation Rubric
- Newark Public Schools Leadership Framework
- Principal Evaluation and Improvement Instrument
- Rhode Island Model: Building Administrator Evaluation & Support Model (Edition II)
- School Advance Educator Evaluation System and Administrator Evaluation Tools
- Stronge Leader Effectiveness Performance Evaluation Model
- The Marshall Principal Evaluation Rubrics
- The New Jersey LoTi Principal Evaluation Instrument
- The Thoughtful Classroom Principal Effectiveness Framework (TCPEF)
Note: This list is not inclusive of seven districts with approved evaluation instruments. Those districts asked that their evaluation instruments not be published.