Teacher and Leader Evaluation Systems Study:

Spring 2013 Principal Survey

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improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC 20202–4537. If you 

have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write 

directly to: Melanie Ali, U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, Room 502B, 555 

New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20208-5500.
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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Dear Principal:

The Teacher and Leader Evaluation Systems Study is a groundbreaking national study designed to test 

innovative principal feedback systems, teacher feedback systems, and feedback on student growth. A 

key element of the study is this survey. Your participation in this survey is important and appreciated, but 

you do have the right to skip any question that you do not wish to answer. Below are answers to some 

general questions concerning your participation.

What is the purpose of this survey?

The purpose of this survey is to obtain information on the principals within the study as well as information 

about their attitudes and beliefs about their role as a principal, their experiences with providing and 

receiving feedback, actions they take related to school staffing and leadership activities, their experiences 

with professional development and observation training, and reflections on their career.

Who is conducting this study?

The Teacher and Leader Evaluation Systems Study was commissioned by the Department of Education’s 

Institute of Education Sciences, and is administered by American Institutes of Research.

Why should you participate in this study?

Policymakers and education leaders rely on findings from studies like the Teacher and Leader Evaluation 

Systems Study to inform their decisions. The current study will fill a critical gap in the research on the 

effects of evaluation systems on educator practice and student learning. 

Will your responses be kept confidential?

Your responses are protected from disclosure by federal statute (P.L. 107-279, Title I, Part E, Sec. 183). 

All responses that relate to or describe identifiable characteristics of individuals may be used only for 

statistical purposes and may not be disclosed or used in identifiable form for any other purposes, unless 

otherwise compelled by law.

How will your information be reported?

The information you provide will be combined with the information provided by others in statistical reports. 

No individual data that link your name or e-mail address with your responses will be included in the 

statistical reports. 

Thank you for your cooperation in this very important effort!
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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Background

1. Including the current year, how many years of experience do you have in each of the 

following roles?

Count part of a year as 1 year.

If none, please mark (X) the box.

a. Year(s) as a principal of this or any other school

b. Year(s) as a principal of this school

c.  None or Year(s) of teaching before becoming a principal

2. Have you earned any of the following degrees, diplomas, or certificates?

Please check Yes or No in each row.

 

Degree Earned

a. Bachelor’s degree

 Yes 

 No

b. Master’s degree

 Yes 

 No

c.

Educational specialist or professional diploma (at least one year 

beyond master’s level)

 Yes 

 No

d. Certificate of advanced graduate studies

 Yes 

 No

e.

Doctorate or professional degree (e.g., Ph.D., Ed.D., M.D, L.L.B, 

J.D, D.D.S.)

 Yes 

 No
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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Attitudes and Beliefs 

3. Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements:

Disagree 

Strongly

Disagree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Strongly

a.

I can do a lot to change the achievement scores 

of students in my school. 1 2 3 4

b. I can help teachers in my school improve the 

quality of their instructional practice. 1 2 3 4

c.

My teachers influence each other more than I 

influence them. 1 2 3 4

d. When I set a new school policy, I can usually 

convince my teachers to get on board. 1 2 3 4

e.

I am willing to try new leadership strategies to 

overcome challenges in my school. 1 2 3 4

f. I have the authority to replace teachers in my 

school who aren’t performing well. 1 2 3 4

4. Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements.

Disagree 

Strongly

Disagree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Strongly

a. Principals in this district are recognized for 

exemplary leadership practices. 1 2 3

4

b. Principals in this district are recognized for 

exemplary student achievement gains

1 2 3

4

5. How important is each of the following to you personally?

Not at All 

Important

Somewhat 

Important

Moderately 

Important

Very 

Important

a.

Recognition or praise for effective 

leadership 1 2 3 4

b. Recognition or praise for gains in student 

achievement 1 2 3 4

c.

Taking on leadership roles within your 

district 1 2 3 4
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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Feedback on Principal Performance

6. Please indicate the last time you received feedback on your performance as a principal from 

your supervisor:

 2012-13 school year (Please go to question 7)

 Summer of 2012 (Please go to question 13)

 2011–12 school year, or earlier (Please go to question 13)

 Never (Please go to question 13)

7. Please fill in the following information about each time you have received feedback on your 

performance as a principal from your supervisor during the 2012–13 school year. 

A. Approximate date of 

feedback

B. Did you receive any of the following: 

Please check all that apply.

Please select “Rating” if the feedback you received was 

in the form of either a qualitative or numeric rating.

If “other,” please specify.

C. If you received oral 

feedback, approximately 

how many minutes did it 

last?

1

O Fall 2012 O Oral feedback (if checked, please answer C)

____________ minutes

O Winter 2012–13 O Written narrative

O Spring 2013 O Rating(s)

O Other: ________________________

2

O Fall 2012 O Oral feedback (if checked, please answer C)

____________ minutes

O Winter 2012–13 O Written narrative

O Spring 2013 O Rating(s)

O Other: ________________________

3

O Fall 2012 O Oral feedback (if checked, please answer C)

____________ minutes

O Winter 2012–13 O Written narrative

O Spring 2013 O Rating(s)

O Other: ________________________

4

O Fall 2012 O Oral feedback (if checked, please answer C)

____________ minutes

O Winter 2012–13 O Written narrative

O Spring 2013 O Rating(s)

O Other: ________________________

5

O Fall 2012 O Oral feedback (if checked, please answer C)

____________ minutes

O Winter 2012–13 O Written narrative

O Spring 2013 O Rating(s)

O Other: ________________________
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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8. During the 2012–13 school year, to what extent did your supervisor’s feedback focus on the 

following topic areas? 

Not at All

Minimal 

Extent

Moderate 

Extent

Great 

Extent

a. High quality instruction 1 2 3 4

b. Challenging curriculum 1 2 3 4

c. High standards for learning 1 2 3 4

d. School management 1 2 3 4

e. Student behavioral challenges 1 2 3 4

f. Time management 1 2 3 4

9. During the 2012–13 school year, in what ways (if any) did teachers in your school provide 

input to your supervisor on your performance as a principal?

Please check all that apply.

 Through a survey

 Through meeting(s) with teachers

 Through written feedback from teachers 

 Teachers provided input, but I don’t know how

 I don’t know if teachers provided input to my supervisor

 Teachers did not provide input to my supervisor

10. During the 2012–13 school year, please indicate your level of agreement with the following 

statement.

Disagree 

Strongly

Disagree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Strongly

Prior to receiving feedback from my supervisor, I had 

a clear sense of the expectations of my performance. 1 2 3 4

11. During the 2012–13 school year, did your supervisor refer to a rubric or protocol in any of the 

feedback?

 Yes 

 No 
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12. Thinking back on all of the feedback you received from your supervisor on your performance 

as a principal during the 2012–13 school year, please indicate your level of agreement with 

each of the following statements.

Disagree 

Strongly

Disagree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Strongly

a.

I received feedback that was a fair assessment of 

my performance. 1 2 3 4

b. I received feedback that included specific ideas 

about how I could improve my performance. 1 2 3 4

c.

I received feedback that encouraged me to 

improve my school’s performance. 1 2 3 4

d. 

I received feedback that encouraged me to ensure 

that my teachers are providing instruction that 

challenges their students.

1 2 3 4

e.

I received feedback that ignored important aspects 

of my leadership. 1 2 3 4

Student Achievement Information

For items 13 through17, “student achievement information” refers to information based on 

standardized test results for the students who were in your current school during the 2011-12 

school year.

13. Which of the following types of student achievement information did you receive? 

Please check all that apply.

 I did not receive any student achievement information based on standardized test results 

(please go to question 18)

 Data on individual students in my school (e.g., individual student scale scores, proficiency 

levels, or percentile rank)

 Average data for classes of students in my school (e.g., average scale score for the 

class, percent proficient for the class, average percentile rank for the class)

 Value -added scores for me based upon the students in my school (i.e., scores that 

represent the contribution that I made to my students’ achievement growth on 

standardized tests)

 Overall value-added score for all students in my school across subjects and grades

 Other (please specify):__________________________________________
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14. Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements about the 

student achievement information on the students in your school.

Disagree 

Strongly

Disagree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Strongly

a.

The information allows the district to distinguish

effective from ineffective schools.

1 2 3 4

b.

The information ignores important aspects of 

my school’s performance. 1 2 3 4

c.

The information accurately reflects the quality 

of the leadership in my school.

1 2 3 4

15. Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements about the 

fairness of interpreting the student achievement information you received as an indicator 

of a school’s level of effectiveness.

Disagree 

Strongly

Disagree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Strongly

a.

The information as an indicator of school 

effectiveness is fair to all principals, regardless 

of the personal characteristics of the students 

in their schools.

1 2 3 4

b.

The information as an indicator of school 

effectiveness is fair to all principals, regardless 

of the prior achievement of students in their 

school. 

1 2 3 4

16. Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements about the

student achievement information that you received this year.

Disagree 

Strongly

Disagree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Strongly

a.

The information is a good measure of how well 

students learned what teachers in my school

taught during the year.

1 2 3 4

b. The information does a good job distinguishing 

effective from ineffective teachers. 1 2 3 4

c.

The information ignores important aspects of 

teachers’ performance. 1 2 3 4

d.

The information accurately reflects the quality of 

teachers who taught in this school.

1 2 3 4
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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17. Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements about the 

fairness of interpreting the student achievement information you received as an indicator 

of a teacher’s level of effectiveness.

Disagree 

Strongly

Disagree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Strongly

a.

The information as an indicator of teacher 

effectiveness is fair to all teachers, regardless of 

the personal characteristics of the students they 

teach.

1 2 3 4

b.

The information as an indicator of teacher 

effectiveness is fair to all teachers, regardless of 

the prior achievement of students they teach. 

1 2 3 4

Usefulness of feedback

18. Thinking back on all of the feedback you have received on your performance during the 

2012–13 school year, please indicate the extent to which each of the following forms of 

feedback have been useful in improving your leadership practice. 

Please select “NA” if you did not receive feedback of this type.

NA

Not useful 

at all

Minimally 

useful

Moderately 

useful

Extremely 

useful

a.

Conversations with my supervisor 

about my performance 0 1 2 3 4

b. Written feedback from my 

supervisor about my performance. 0 1 2 3 4

c. Direct feedback from my teachers 0 1 2 3 4

d. Student achievement data from my

school 0 1 2 3 4
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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Feedback on Teacher Performance

Please use the following directions for the questions below.

 Feel free to use a faculty roster if this will help you categorize your teachers.

 Please include only classroom teachers, which means any staff member who currently teaches 

any regularly scheduled classes in your school. Please do NOT include pre-K teachers, shortterm substitute teachers, aides, or librarians who only teach library skills or how to use the library.

19. For the 2012–13 school year, how many CLASSROOM TEACHERS are in your school?

Classroom teachers

20. For the 2012–13 school year, how many CLASSROOM TEACHERS would you put in the 

following categories, based on your overall opinion of their TEACHING ABILITY?

a. High Performing Teachers: 

 None or Classroom teachers

b. Moderate Performing Teachers: 

 None or Classroom teachers

c. Low Performing Teachers: 

 None or Classroom teachers
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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21. During the 2012–13 school year, on average, how many hours did you spend observing each 

teacher in the following categories in your school? 

a. High Performing Teachers:

 None or Hours spent observing high performing teachers. 

b. Moderate Performing Teachers:

 None or Hours spent observing moderate performing teachers.

c. Low Performing Teachers:

 None or Hours spent observing low performing teachers.

22. During the 2012–13 school year, on average, how many hours have you spent providing 

feedback on instruction based on classroom observations in individual meetings with each 

teacher in the following categories in your school?

Please consider only feedback you have given individually to teachers.

a. High Performing Teachers:

 None or

Hours spent in meetings providing individual feedback to 

high performing teachers. 

b. Moderate Performing Teachers:

 None or

Hours spent in meetings providing individual feedback to 

moderate performing teachers.

c. Low Performing Teachers:

 None or

Hours spent in meetings providing individual feedback to 

low performing teachers.
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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23. During the 2012-13 school year, on average, how many hours have you spent preparing 

written feedback based on classroom observations for each individual teacher in the following

categories in your school?

Please consider only feedback you have given individually to teachers.

a. High Performing Teachers:

 None or

Hours preparing written feedback to high performing

teachers. 

b. Moderate Performing Teachers:

 None or

Hours preparing written feedback to moderate performing 

teachers.

c. Low Performing Teachers:

 None or

Hours preparing written feedback to low performing

teachers.

24. During the 2012-13 school year, how many hours have you spent in meetings providing 

feedback to groups of teachers in your school (e.g., grade level meetings, content area 

meetings)? 

 None or Hours providing feedback to groups of teachers. 

25. Thinking ahead to the end of the 2012–13 school year, will you have you used a rating 

system, for which you have already received training, to guide your observations of 

classroom instruction?

 Yes 

 No 
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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26. Thinking ahead to the end of the 2012-13 school year, please provide the following 

estimates:

[Note: A conditional logic will follow whereby principals who indicated that they plan to 

conduct at least one more observation will receive subitem 26b through 26e.]

Please only include the observations you intend to conduct and feedback you intend to give 

between now and the end of 2012-13.

a.

Number of classroom observations you expect to 

conduct.  None or

Classroom 

observations

b.

Length of each observation you expect to 

conduct. Minutes

c.

Number of times you plan to meet with teachers 

to provide individual feedback on instruction 

based on a classroom observation.

 None or

Individual 

meetings

d.

Length of each meeting you expect to have 

providing individual feedback on instruction 

based on a classroom observation.

Minutes

e.

Number of times you expect to provide written 

feedback on instruction following a classroom 

observation.

 None or

Times writing 

feedback

f.

Length of time you expect to spend writing 

feedback for each observation for which you 

provided such feedback.

Minutes
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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27. During the 2012–13 school year, for how many teachers have you done the following:

a. Directed to receive extra support  None or Teacher(s) at my school

b. Asked to take on a leadership or mentoring 

role  None or Teacher(s) at my school

c.

Provided additional professional development 

or other supports (e.g., coaching)  None or Teacher(s) at my school

d. Encouraged to leave voluntarily  None or Teacher(s) at my school

e.

Asked to take on a different role or grade next

school year  None or Teacher(s) at my school

28. Based on performance information you have reviewed this year, how many teachers would 

you replace from your school if you had the option?

 None or Teacher(s) in my school
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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29. Considering all of the different types of feedback you provide to teachers in your school, to 

what extent does the feedback focus on each of the following?

Not at 

All

Minimal 

Extent

Moderate 

Extent

Great 

Extent

a. Developing lesson plans 1 2 3 4

b. Differentiating instruction 1 2 3 4

c.

Aligning instruction with local curriculum and/or state 

standards 1 2 3 4

d. Setting/achieving instructional goals 1 2 3 4

e.

Helping teachers use student achievement data to 

improve instruction 1 2 3 4

f. Practicing instructional strategies 1 2 3 4

g.

Selecting curriculum materials and other resources for 

teachers 1 2 3 4

h. Increasing student engagement and participation 1 2 3 4

i. Helping teachers with classroom management 1 2 3 4

j. Recommending specific professional development 

opportunities 1 2 3 4

k. Encouraging teachers to be more reflective as instructors 1 2 3 4

l. Facilitating collaboration among teachers 1 2 3 4

30. During the 2012–13 school year, have you received reports on the classroom practice of 

teachers in your school who were observed by people other than you?

Please do not count your own reports of the teachers’ instructional practice.

 Yes 

 No 
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31. To what extent do you find each of the following useful for assessing individual teacher 

performance in your school? 

N/A

Not At 

All 

Useful 

Somewhat 

Useful

Moderately 

Useful

Extremely 

Useful

a. Classroom observation reports 0 1 2 3 4

b. Formative assessment results 0 1 2 3 4

c.

Student achievement results (i.e., scale 

scores, proficiency levels, percentile 

ranks)

0 1 2 3 4

d. Student attendance 0 1 2 3 4

e. Student disciplinary records 0 1 2 3 4

f. Value-added reports 0 1 2 3 4

g. Other (please specify): 0 1 2 3 4

32. To what extent do you use information based on standardized test results to do each of the 

following? 

Not at 

All 

Minimal 

Extent

Moderate 

Extent

Great 

Extent

a. Set school-wide goals for student achievement 1 2 3 4

b. Set teacher-specific goals for student achievement 1 2 3 4

c. Evaluate teachers’ performance 1 2 3 4

d. Compare student performance in different grades and 

classrooms 1 2 3 4

e.

Compare performance of different groups of students 

(e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, special education, etc.) 1 2 3 4

f. Compare your school to other schools 1 2 3 4

g.

Examine trends in your school’s performance over 

time

1 2 3 4

h. Examine trends in teachers’ performance over time 1 2 3 4
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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Your Professional Development 

33. To what extent would you like to improve on the following:

No 

improvement 

needed

Improve 

a little

Improve 

a 

moderate 

amount

Improve 

a large 

amount

Did you discuss 

topic with a 

supervisor during 

the 2012-2013 

school year?

a.

Identifying, implementing, or 

monitoring the use of challenging 

curriculum

   

 Yes

 No

b.

Advising teachers on ways to 

improve their instruction    

 Yes

 No

c.

Using data to make decisions 

related to improving student 

achievement

   

 Yes

 No

d.

Making personnel/human 

resources decisions    

 Yes

 No

f.

Managing non-personnel 

administrative issues (e.g., 

budgeting, facilities maintenance)

   

 Yes

 No

g.

Student behavior/discipline (e.g., 

drug/crime prevention; social 

development)

   

 Yes

 No

h.

Parent/community issues (e.g., 

parent involvement, community 

relationships)

   

 Yes

 No

i. Other (please specify):    

 Yes

 No

34. During the 2012–13 school year, have you participated in professional development activities 

related to your role as a principal? 

 Yes (Please go to question 36)

 No (Please go to question 38)
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35. During the 2012–13 school year, what is the total number of hours you have spent on each of 

the following types of professional development activities?

For each activity, write the total number of HOURS you have spent. 

Round up to the nearest whole hour. 

Mark ‘0’ if you did not participate in the activity. 

Please do NOT count the same hours in more than one row.

a. Attending professional development workshops or training session(s). Hours

b. Receiving coaching or mentoring. Hours

c. Taking course(s), such as a college course, that extended over at 

least several weeks. Hours

d. Self-directed efforts, such as reading books/ papers or searching for 

materials online. Hours

e. Meeting with fellow principals as part of a principal learning 

community. Hours

f. Other (Please specify):

Hours
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36. For the total hours you engaged in professional development during the 2012–13 school 

year, please indicate the extent to which the following topics have been covered. 

 

Professional Development Topics

Did Not 

Cover This 

Topic at 

All

Covered 

This Topic 

to a Small 

Extent

Covered 

This Topic 

to a 

Moderate 

Extent

Covered 

This Topic

to a Large 

Extent

a.

Identifying, implementing, or monitoring the use 

of challenging curriculum 1 2 3 4

b. Advising teachers on ways to improve their 

instruction 1 2 3 4

c.

Using data to make decisions related to 

improving student achievement 1 2 3 4

d. Making personnel/human resources decisions 1 2 3 4

e.

Managing non-personnel administrative issues 

(e.g., budgeting, facilities maintenance) 1 2 3 4

f. Student behavior/discipline (e.g., drug/crime 

prevention; social development) 1 2 3 4

g.

Parent/community issues (e.g., parent 

involvement, community relationships) 1 2 3 4

i. Other (please specify): 1 2 3 4

Observation Training 

37. Have you ever been trained on conducting observations of classroom practice? 

 Yes (Please go to question 39)

 No (Please go to question 43)

38. When was the last time you received training on conducting observations of classroom 

practice?

 Summer 2012 – present

 Summer 2011 – spring 2012

 Prior to summer 2011
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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39. Approximately how many hours of training have you received over the past three years 

related to rating classroom observations?

Hours 

40. Approximately how many hours of training have you received over the past three years 

related to providing feedback to teachers on their classroom observation performance?

Hours 

41. Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements about the 

training on classroom observations.

Disagree 

Strongly

Disagree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Somewhat

Agree 

Strongly

a.

The training I received provided many 

opportunities to practice observing classroom 

instruction. 

1 2 3 4

b.

The training provided many opportunities for 

observers to check their level of agreement with 

one another.

1 2 3 4

c.

The training adequately prepared me to rate 

teachers based on classroom observations. 1 2 3 4

d. The training adequately prepared me to provide 

feedback to teachers after each observation. 1 2 3 4

Reflections on Your Career

42. If you could go back to your college days and start over again, would you become a principal or 

not?

Mark (X) in only one box.

 Certainly would become a principal

 Probably would become a principal

 Chances about even for and against

 Probably would not become a principal

 Certainly would not become a principal
Principal Survey Spring 2013

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43. How long do you plan to remain as a principal?

Mark (X) in only one box.

 As long as I am able

 Until I am eligible for retirement benefits from this job

 Until I am eligible for retirements benefits from a previous job

 Until I am eligible for Social Security benefits

 Until a specific life event occurs (e.g., parenthood, marriage)

 Until a more desirable job opportunity comes along

 Definitely plan to leave as soon as I can

 Undecided at this time

You are done with the survey. Thank you.