Superintendent evaluations in Virginia: the superintendent's perspective

Abstract

Statement of the Problem: The purposes of this study were threefold. The first was to identify the current practices and procedures being utilized in the Commonwealth of Virginia to evaluate local public school superintendents. Secondly, the study compared the reported practices from Virginia with those which have been identified as "best practices" from a review of the literature. Finally, this study examined selected variables which might have influenced the evaluation process of superintendents.

Research Procedures: This descriptive study was designed to identify current practices within the State of Virginia related to the evaluation of public school superintendents. A questionnaire was used to survey the public school superintendents in Virginia to gain their perspective on the evaluation procedures utilized by school boards to evaluate their performance. Frequencies and percentages were used to report the data.

Outcomes: The results of this study revealed that the practices currently used in Virginia need to be reviewed and improved. Less than half of the school boards in Virginia have established procedures or policies in place to evaluate their superintendents. Most superintendents report not having a formal evaluation procedure in place in their school division. Evaluation procedures in Virginia for public school superintendents do not compare favorably with identified best practices for superintendent evaluation. The study also revealed that the size and wealth of the school division influenced the evaluation process for the superintendent. Superintendents from larger school divisions are more likely to have formal evaluation procedures in place than superintendents from small or average size school divisions. Wealthy school divisions were also more likely to utilize a formal procedure for evaluating the superintendent than divisions identified as low or average wealth.