Effective Principals

An effective principal is essential to school success. These resources provide research, policy snapshots, promising practices, and examples to guide school districts in planning and implementing principal development and evaluation systems.

Standards for Principals

Resources in this section provide state and national leadership standards and differentiated performance indicators for principals in various career stages and contexts.

California Professional Standards for Education Leaders (CPSEL)
The CPSEL lay out quality standards for site and district leaders and provide indicators of leadership action that contribute to meeting the standards.

Descriptions of Practice - Moving Leadership Standards Into Everyday Work
The descriptions of practice (DOPs) introduced in this publication were developed to enhance the usefulness of research-based leadership standards.

Guidance for the Selection and Support of Exemplary Principals in Underperforming Schools
This document provides guidance for district leaders in selecting, assigning, and supporting exemplary principals, identifying professional learning needs and opportunities, and creating coaching and support systems that result in principals continuously improving their performance.

Educational Leadership Policy Standards: Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC 2008)
This document represents the latest set of high-level policy standards for education leadership. It provides guidance to state policymakers as they work to improve education leadership preparation, licensure, evaluation, and professional development.

Performance Expectations and Indicators for Education Leaders
The main purpose of the Performance Expectations and Indicators is to provide a resource for policymakers and educators in states, districts, and programs to analyze and prioritize expectations of education leaders in various roles and at strategic stages in their careers.