Principal Evaluation

Chicago is the only major city in the United States in which parent-majority Local School Councils (LSCs) evaluate their principal’s performance to lay the ground work for continuous school improvement. There are two types of evaluations LSCs must carry out: Annual Principal Evaluation and End-of-Contract (Cumulative) Evaluation.

Due to state law, the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA), principal evaluation is required to be standards-based and must include student growth indicators in addition to professional practice ratings. The LSC determines the professional practice rating (50%) and student growth indicators include standardized test scores and attendance (50%), in a formula set by CPS. 

To determine the professional practice rating, the LSC collects evidence from multiple sources. Annual feedback from stakeholders is solicited via a survey, in addition to the principal's self-evaluation, monthly principal reports, budget, CIWP,  and network evaluations. For annual evaluations, the survey is distributed in the spring, but for cumulative evaluation, the survey is conducted in the fall. The 2017-2018 school year marks the end of the current contract, and as such, the LSC will conduct a cumulative evaluation and vote on contract renewal. Evaluation scoring and feedback sessions are done in closed executive sessions and are not open to the public.

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