Without effective principals, any large system will find it next to impossible to develop capacity and place a high‐quality teacher in front of every child. In order to turn around, a struggling school needs an effective principal to coach teachers, provide useful instructional feedback, monitor the system for continuous improvement, and build a culture of excellence.

Principals need to demonstrate leadership and vision, and they must be prepared to make tough decisions. These attributes will be assessed using the principal evaluation rubric. Operationally, a school leader’s main purpose is to improve the quality of instruction and raise student achievement. Increased student proficiency is what matters most and encapsulates all of the performance measurements of an effective principal. The Dallas ISD’s evaluation of principals will rely on a combination of performance measurements and student achievement results.