September 16, 2014
The Council of Chief State School Officers recently sought feedback from the public on draft standards for education leaders that aim to ensure district and school leaders are able to improve student achievement and meet new, higher expectations.
The standards detail the leadership skills and knowledge effective district and school leaders need in order to influence teaching and student learning.
The draft standards are available here. The public comment period ended October 10. After that period, the standards will be finalized and released later this fall.
The standards are voluntary. States, districts, schools and university and nonprofit leadership preparation programs use the standards to guide preparation, practice, support and evaluations for district and school leaders, including superintendents, principals, assistant principals, and teacher leaders. Most states adapt them to local needs.
The draft standards for district and school leaders include 11 broad standards and specific actions under each one. Among the broad standards: developing and implementing a child-centered vision of quality schooling shared by the school community; enhancing instructional capacity; promoting robust and meaningful curricula and assessment programs; engaging families; and developing an equitable and culturally responsive school.
For the past several months, CCSSO and the National Policy Board for Educational Administration have led an effort to refresh the standards to reflect research-based evidence and experience gained since the last update of the standards in 2008. More than 70 principals, superintendents, state education department staff, education professors, researchers, and others have been working on this set of draft standards.
