The Impact of State Principal Evaluation Policies on Equity for Economically Disadvantaged Students

This study investigated causal links between states’ principal evaluation policies and academic achievement among economically disadvantaged students, focusing on two policy levers: (1) required inclusion of student growth data (output-based) and (2) mandated observations or site visits (input-based). States enacting the output-based principal evaluation policy did not typically have higher National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) achievement scores among eighth-grade free or reduced lunch eligible (FRL) students than states without these policies. In contrast, the input-based policy had a small-to-moderate positive effect on eighth-grade reading achievement scores, particularly among FRL students. The importance of focusing on principal behaviors rather than student achievement is discussed.