Integrating Personnel Evaluation in the Planning and Evaluation of School Improvement Initiatives

Abstract

Researchers assert that successful school improvement initiatives are school-based efforts that focus on a realistic number of priorities that address critical student needs and simultaneously motivate school staff members. Following from this assertion, attention to personnel evaluation can be a valuable component of evaluations of school improvement initiatives. Program evaluators need to examine the role of personnel evaluation systems in the operation and success (or failure) of the school improvement initiatives they evaluate. This article argues that (a) when used appropriately, personnel evaluation can become an integral component of school improvement initiatives; (b) evaluations of school-reform (and other educational) programs should focus far more on personnel evaluation systems; and (c) the benefits to rendering greater attention to personnel evaluation include a likely increase in the success of school improvement interventions.