Principals' performance assessment: Empirical evidence from an Israeli case study

Despite the current interest in many countries in assessing the principal's performance, stemming from the greater attention to educational reform and accountability, the empirical study of principal's appraisal has been slow to develop. This article was designed to fill partially this gap. Data was collected by semi-structured interviews of eight primary school supervisors and 24 primary school principals from four of the six educational districts in Israel. The subjects were asked to respond to the following questions related to the purposes of the principals' appraisal, political factors exerted on principals' appraisal, assessment usefulness and its impact upon principals' effectiveness. Results reveal that both groups had different perceptions regarding the principal appraisal purposes, processes, usefulness and effectiveness, which corroborate studies conducted in other countries. While most of the supervisors believed that the assessment process was helpful, 75 percent of the principals reported that the assessment was a waste of time. Regarding the improvement of the process, while the supervisors put emphasis on summative assessment and the need for more resources for supervision, school principals emphasized formative assessment, portfolios, being involved in the process and peer assessment.