The purpose and practices of leadership assessment as perceived by select public middle and elementary school principals in the Midwest

The purpose of this study was to explore the purpose and practices of leadership evaluation as perceived by principals. The researcher wanted to identify the perceived purposes and practices of leadership evaluation as described by nine public school principals, and to respond to the apparent need expressed by administrators to receive substantive feedback.;The principals who were chosen for this study were from two high performing school districts. High performing school districts were identified as districts whose schools were making adequate yearly progress (AYP) in the area of student academic achievement. The researcher sought to determine if districts have high student achievement whether that equates to principals not desiring to be evaluated. The questions that the researcher needed to answer were: What is the purpose of leadership assessment as described by nine public school principals? How do nine public school principals perceive leadership assessment? What evaluation practices have been used to measure individual leadership competencies in nine public school principals?;This was a qualitative study that used a phenomenological design. The qualitative study was chosen to explore the phenomenon of leadership evaluation and the perceptions that principals had about the purpose and practices of principal evaluation. The findings showcased many aspects of leadership evaluation that were perceived as worthwhile by the nine principals as well as those practices and procedures that may need to be improved to portray an accurate understanding of a leaders competency within their comprehensive role as a school principal. The findings highlighted a disconnect between the expectations the principals in regard to leadership evaluations and the actual practices and procedures that were currently being used to measure the nine principals leadership capabilities. The four findings showcased that goal setting is an effective evaluation practice, reflective practice should be utilized more throughout the evaluation process, multidimensional leadership evaluations relate to the complexity of the principal's role, and a link was seen between leadership competency and improved student achievement. The concept of conversational reflection was seen as critical by all principals as a means to improve their leadership competencies.;The field of education has highlighted the importance of reflective practice, conversation, and mentoring among teachers but may do well to address the importance of these at the leadership level as another means to improve student achievement. Since conversational reflection was perceived within this study to be one of the most significant practices to improve leadership attributes and practices. School districts and leadership preparation programs may wish to imbed conversational reflection into professional development opportunities in order to enhance leadership practices.