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NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Task 1

Leadership through a Vision for High Student Achievement

What Do School Leaders Need to Think about When Realizing a Vision for Student Achievement?

School leaders have the ability to create a school where all students, particularly members of student groups who have been identified as a priority at the individual school level, can improve their academic performance and reach ambitious learning targets. Central to the realization of a universally shared vision of high student achievement is the establishment of meaningful achievement goals and expectations; respectful and trusting relationships among and between the adults and the students; and effective programs and practices based on both evidence and research and on the commitment of staff, families, and the community. Leaders can act to ensure that this vision is reflected in both the school’s instructional program (curriculum, instruction, and assessment) and its culture.

School culture has three components: (1) the professional learning culture (teacher- teacher relationships), (2) the student culture (teacher-student and student-student relationships), and (3) the culture of family and community engagement (school staff, family, and community relationships). For a positive school culture that promotes learning, all three components must be actively promoted and maintained, and are to be addressed in this task.

Task 1 assesses the capacity of school leadership candidates to develop a vision of high- quality student achievement and a plan for improving student learning in a priority academic area. A priority academic area is an area in which improved student performance is desired based on input from staff at the school and district level, and with attention to student groups that are a priority in the school. Candidates are required to provide evidence that demonstrates that the chosen subject or academic performance area and the target student group are priorities. As an example, a candidate might designate fourth-grade ELA close-reading skills for ELL students as a Task 1 priority academic area after carefully analyzing ELA data from state-required testing or other standardized measures, as well as fourth-grade first-term common assessment data and school and district improvement plans, and consulting with the fourth-grade PLC teachers. The following are not acceptable priority academic areas because they are not sufficiently focused on specific student learning performance and subject area: attendance, absenteeism, discipline or behavioral issues, graduation or

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

retention rates, and AP enrollment. While these concerns may be a secondary issue related to a priority academic area, they cannot be the primary focus when developing a vision or promoting family engagement and community involvement for high student achievement.

To begin this task, you must analyze relevant school-level student performance and school context and culture data to identify (1) a priority academic area where student learning needs to improve and (2) an underperforming student group to target. Then you will solicit additional information from students, teachers, staff, families, and other stakeholders in order to acquire explicit information and knowledge about factors contributing to the student group’s low performance in the priority academic area. Consider how student performance and school experiences vary among students across different grade levels, especially for specific student groups. Take into account the school’s context and culture, as well as the current practices and programs aimed at improving the performance of all students, along with evidence of their effective implementation.

You should also review the North Carolina Standards for School Executives.

You will be asked to gather and evaluate input/feedback from stakeholders at two separate and distinct times during Task 1. First, input/feedback should be gathered to help identify and justify the selected priority academic area and the target student group. This aspect of the data-gathering process should be completed prior to the development of the plan vision, strategies, or implementation details. After you have developed a plan, you will be asked to solicit additional feedback from school leaders and other stakeholders regarding the plan’s relevance, quality, and feasibility, as well as any suggestions for plan revisions.

What Do You Need to Do to Complete This Task?

 Access, collect, and analyze three to five years of quantitative student performance data, qualitative data on school culture and student learning, and overall school context information.

 Identify a priority academic area where improved student performance is desired, with attention to student groups, based on the information collected and analyzed.

 Collect additional quantitative and qualitative information about the target student group’s performance in the priority academic area that clarifies factors contributing to the performance need, including findings from observations and staff and student interviews, focus groups, and/or surveys pertaining to student and teacher cultures and to the school culture overall.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

 Document existing school programs, services, and practices that are relevant to the target student group’s performance in the priority area and identify the gaps in effectiveness and opportunities for improvement.

 Solicit input from school leaders, teachers, and other relevant stakeholders throughout the inquiry and planning process about the student learning needs, priorities, gaps, and opportunities for improvement. Also solicit proposed improvement strategies.

 Develop a vision, a set of action strategies, and a proposed detailed plan to improve the target student group’s learning in the priority academic area, based on the data and input you collected and analyzed.

 Solicit feedback about the need for addressing the target student group’s performance in the proposed priority area and the relevance and feasibility of the proposed plan from school leaders and key stakeholder groups in the school and its community.

 Evaluate the feedback and make appropriate revisions to the plan to reflect the feedback.

 Summarize and constructively critique the leadership skills and practices that you used or developed in completing this task.

What Questions Do You Need to Consider to Complete This Task?

 What school and district data exist about student performance, school context, and school culture?

 Which individuals at the school and district level are best informed to advise you on the selection of a priority academic area?

 What clarifying information, relevant to the selection and improvement of the priority academic area, can be obtained from observations and interviews with stakeholders?

 What sources of evidence make an argument compelling when advocating for educational changes on behalf of the target student group(s)?

Each school has a unique set of attributes that defines its context, including grade span, size, staffing composition, resources, attrition rates, and the demographic characteristics of students and staff. Consider the elements of the school context that are relevant to the priority academic area and target student group you select and the school vision and plan you develop.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

The Components of the Task

Component 1: Investigate

Task 1 begins with an investigation of a priority academic area for a group of students where the school’s approach—through programs, services, and policies—needs to be improved. First, review available data to identify a priority academic area and target student group. A group may be all the students in a grade or content area; a subgroup would be a subset of this group based on demographic attributes or educational needs. For purposes of this task, you are encouraged to focus on different educational needs within a group of students, particularly giving attention to those who are part of student group categories. For purposes of this task, the whole group (such as grade or subject area) and the priority subgroup selected for this task will be identified as group(s). The subgroup selected as a focus for this task is termed the target student group.

Next, collect additional data and information that justify why the academic area and student group(s) are being selected as priorities, and that explain potential causes of or contributing factors to low performance. Your investigation should progress through the inquiry and planning process illustrated in Figure 1.1.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Figure 1.1 Task 1 Inquiry and planning process

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

The following question should guide you in beginning your data collection and analysis:

What area of student learning should be a priority for improvement and for which group of students?

Begin by reviewing three to five years of available or newly collected student (whole group and subgroup) performance data (from state required testing or other standardized measures, grade promotion rates, end-of-course assessments, course completion rates, dropout rates, interim or periodic assessments, AP scores, graduation rates, and college-going rates). In the review process, identify trends and patterns where student progress may be insufficient or in need of targeted improvement. Disaggregate the data to investigate patterns of differences between student subgroups in these trends, with special attention to the student groups (see the “Overview of the NCPPA Assessment Tasks” section). Which subgroup of students needs targeted improvement support or attention and why?

As you collect and analyze additional data related to the student learning need, consider the questions below and types of evidence suggested to guide you through identifying and deepening your understanding about performance in a priority academic area for a target student group.

1) What is the relationship between the target student group’s performance for the priority academic area and other student, teacher, and school data, particularly for the target student group?

To investigate this question, review available student engagement data (e.g., attendance and program participation rates), teacher quality and engagement data (e.g., years of teaching, qualification[s], degrees earned, attendance record, length of time at the school), and school culture data (culture and climate surveys). How does this information help to explain student performance for the priority academic area, particularly for the target student group? How does their relationship refine your understanding of the learning need for the target student group?

2) What is the learning experience for the target student group in the priority academic area?

Through observations in and around the school; classroom visits; informal interviews; and focus groups or surveys with students, teachers, families, and other stakeholders (e.g., community members), you can elicit rich, qualitative information about the target student group’s learning experiences. What can you learn about their experiences that deepens your understanding of their challenges and lack of progress in the priority area?

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3) How do the priority academic area and target student group align with school and district priorities?

Review the district’s and school’s vision and mission statements and existing improvement plans. As you refine your understanding of the priority academic area, consider how it relates to the school and district priorities for school improvement.

At the end of this phase, you should have a clearly defined, well-justified priority academic area and target student group around which to develop an improvement plan.

Consider engaging with the following resources to deepen your understanding of how the priority academic area relates to the school and district priorities for improvement:

—North Carolina School Report Card

—North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey

—School Improvement Planning and NCStar

Component 2: Prepare

To prepare a plan for improving the target student group’s performance in the priority area, evaluate gaps and opportunities for improvement by auditing existing school programs, processes, and practices; seeking input from others; and investigating possible improvement strategies. Consider using strategies and resources that include tools for school or district self-assessment of strengths and areas for improvement; steps to explore root causes of learning issues; and means of establishing goals, objectives, and strategic plans.

Below are the recommended preparation steps that you should take for this task:

1) Audit school programs, processes, and practices that relate to the priority academic area (e.g., scheduling, teaching practices, academic intervention, team time, family participation, professional development opportunities) to identify gaps in effectiveness and opportunities for improvement.

2) Solicit further input using surveys, interviews, focus groups, and observations from school leaders, teachers, students, family members, and community members to determine the strengths, interests, and needs of all students, and in particular for the target student group relative to improving performance for the priority academic area.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

3) Identify what is working well and where improvement is most needed in the components of the school program, such as in one or more of the following:

a. Curriculum (see North Carolina Standard Course of Study [NCSCOS])

b. Instruction (see indicators of proficient and exemplary teaching in the North Carolina Educator Effectiveness System [NCEES])

c. Assessments (formative and/or summative)

d. School culture (e.g., student engagement, attendance, grade completion, course taking, and extracurricular activities; discipline practices; use of time, such as scheduling, grouping, and tiered instruction; other school culture and student engagement improvement efforts; and family engagement)

4) Explore possible improvement strategies through research and best practices sources and input from stakeholders that may be relevant for the priority academic area and target student group.

Consider the nature of the school improvement planning process that currently exists in the school and what formal reporting is required. Determine how this task might build on, contribute to, or be part of this planning.

Consider school level and community conditions that contribute to the school’s existing school improvement or strategic plan.

Consider how learning about family and community experiences and resources could help generate strategies to address the identified need.

Component 3: Act

Using the results from Component 2, design and present a plan containing an integrated set of strategies that can be implemented to improve student learning in the priority academic area for the target student group. The plan should be built around a set of goals and measurable student objectives and a coherent theory of action that explains how implementing the set of strategies will lead to improved student performance. It should reflect the school context and culture as well as the scope and nature of the improvement desired.

A theory of action is an explanatory map of how specific strategies (practices, programs, and/or policies) will improve specific outcomes (in this case, student learning) and why.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

The plan should contain the core elements that provide tools and resources for a planning process and examples of district plans. Further, it should include avenues to improve student engagement and learning by strengthening one or more of the following:

 Curriculum

 Instruction

 Assessment

 School culture

As you develop your plan, solicit input and guidance from the leadership team and other key stakeholders (such as students, teachers, other staff, family members, and community representatives, as appropriate), and document the information they provide, their ideas, and their recommendations. Their input should be formative to the planning process and address the scope and nature of the priority academic area and the needs of the target group, the strengths and challenges of existing programs and practices, and the potential for new strategies to improve performance.

The plan itself should be written as a compelling, evidence-based argument about how the proposed strategies will improve learning for the target students in the priority area. It should include sufficient detail about the following in order to garner support from the leadership team and key stakeholders:

 A list of goals and measurable student outcome objectives, including the scope and nature of the improvement desired

 A set of action strategies to improve learning in the priority area that change, build on, or add to already existing programs and strategies

 A theory of action about how these strategies will lead to improved student performance and foster student engagement and learning

 Identification of existing resources and new resources required, including community-based resources, if relevant

 Changes in school organization or structure (e.g., common planning time, block scheduling, afterschool and tutorial programs) for the proposed actions

 Roles and lines of responsibility for implementing the strategies

 Steps to engage staff and garner support for the proposed strategies

 A timeline for the development and implementation of the new strategies

 Proposed evaluation and feedback approaches to determine whether these strategies yield the intended outcomes

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

The school principal or superintendent and the school leadership team should critically review the draft plan and provide feedback to you. Unlike the input previously obtained from them and other stakeholders, this feedback is more summative and should address the plan’s relevance, quality, comprehensiveness, and feasibility. Evaluate this feedback and use it to guide your revisions to improve the plan. The final version should be revised based upon the feedback with an explanation of how the feedback was used.

Each school has one or more leaders (principal, assistant principal, and teacher leaders) and may also have a leadership team that represents the school’s primary stakeholders. Any plan developed for improvement in the school would need their input and support or approval. These leaders in turn can provide critical feedback to strengthen a proposal for improvement strategies.

Component 4: Assess

As a final step, evaluate the leadership skills and practices you used in this task. Describe the nature of your support from school and district leadership in undertaking this task and how the support contributed to the process and successful completion of the task. Your analysis should include specific examples of those leadership skills and practices and specific examples of what worked well and what could be improved to develop further as an instructional leader.

The leadership evaluation is not a recap of the steps you took to complete this task. It should specifically address your leadership skills and practices related to the following aspects of this task:

 Your collection and analysis of data to determine the priority academic area and student group(s).

 Your engagement of others in the planning process, including soliciting input during planning.

 Your development of a proposed vision, theory of action, and set of strategies.

 Your planning and construction of a compelling argument to gain support for the proposed action.

 Your presentation of the plan and solicitation of feedback.

 Your use of the feedback to make revisions to improve the plan.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Artifacts, Documents, and Commentary

This section provides instructions about the materials the school leadership candidate needs to submit for the review process:

 Confidentiality and Anonymity Form. An editable version is available within the ePortfolio system. You are required to complete and upload this form for each task.

 Three artifacts.

 Documents that support your artifacts.

 Your commentary in narrative form, in response to a series of prompts, about the development of your leadership skills while completing this task.

Remember: Your artifacts must not include personally identifying information about you, the school staff, or the students. Your submissions must comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99), a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Be sure to protect the anonymity of the participants in your study by using generic labels (e.g., Principal A, School B, Teacher C)—NOT aliases, pseudonyms, or first names—for the district, the school, students, staff, and other individuals.

Artifacts

The artifacts that you submit for scoring, each in a separate file, are described below.

The artifacts submitted must represent authentic work completed by candidates and members of the working groups formed for Tasks 1 and 2. Listed below are descriptions of the artifacts required for Task 1.

Artifact #1: Priority Area and Its Context

In a memo of up to three single-spaced pages (up to 1,500 words) to be written by you to the principal or superintendent, provide the following information:

 A description of a priority academic area where improved student performance is desired, with attention to one or more student groups who are underperforming or have been identified as a priority in your school.

 A compelling rationale, based on the data you collected and analyzed, for selecting the priority academic area and the target student group(s). The rationale for selecting the priority area and target student group(s) should draw on quantitative

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

and qualitative data you present in this artifact and be aligned with school and district priorities. Your specific role in the collection and analysis of selected data should be discussed as well as the contributions of any other individuals involved in this process. Draw clear connections between the data analyzed and the selection of a priority academic area and target student group(s).

 An analysis of multiple sources of relevant quantitative and qualitative data (with appropriate references for each source) on student performance; student, teacher and school culture; and student engagement evidence that includes: • An analysis of three to five years of quantitative academic performance data. • An analysis of relevant student engagement data (e.g., attendance and program

participation rates) and teacher quality and engagement data (e.g., years of teaching, years in the school, annual turnover, attendance, qualification, degrees earned).

• An analysis of measures of student and school culture (student, teacher, and other stakeholder culture and climate surveys; focus groups; and interviews).

• An analysis of additional, relevant quantitative or qualitative data that clarifies possible reasons for the learning needs within the priority academic area for the selected student group(s).

 A description of the school and community context and culture factors that influence student performance and engagement, which must be taken into consideration in developing your plan.

 A summary of gaps, utilization needs, and human and other resource limitations of existing school programs, services, and practices in relation to the priority area.

 How input was solicited throughout the planning process: • Identification (by role) of which individuals from the leadership team, staff, and

other stakeholders provided input during the planning process. • A description of how they provided input and the nature of the input in terms of

identifying the priority area and target student group, assessing gaps and opportunities for improvement, and recommending improvement strategies.

• A description of your role in soliciting, analyzing, and utilizing input from a variety of stakeholders.

Note: Synthesize the data used to define your priority academic area and the target student group(s). Do not present tables of information without interpreting the data and drawing conclusions about your selection of the priority area and target student group(s) for this task. Use tables of data judiciously to guide and inform readers. Tables may be displayed in the Category 1 or Category 4 documents (as defined below) and referenced in this Artifact. It is acceptable to link to school and district information, but the expectation is that this is your own work, not work already done by the school.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Artifact #2: The Plan for Action Strategies

In a memo of up to four single-spaced pages (up to 2,000 words) to be written by you to the superintendent or principal, present a plan (the components of which are detailed below) that outlines a set of goals, objectives, and action strategies to improve learning in the priority academic area for the target student group(s) and a theory of action describing how these strategies will lead to improved student performance. Provide the following rationales for the plan:

 A vision statement describing how the plan will support and sustain improvement in the priority academic area for the student group(s).

 A compelling, evidence-based justification explaining how the plan responds to the school context and student culture, and addresses the needs of the student group(s) to improve student learning.

In addition, include the following components of the plan:

 Goals and measurable student outcome objectives specifying the magnitude and nature of the improvement in student performance that is desired.

 A set of action strategies to improve learning in the priority area, with details about how the strategies will be implemented.

 A theory of action of how these strategies collectively will lead to improved student performance and foster student engagement.

 Existing resources used and new resources required.

 Changes in the school organization or structure (common planning time, block scheduling, afterschool programs, etc.) needed to support the proposed strategies.

 Roles and lines of responsibility for implementing the proposed strategies.

 Steps to engage staff and garner support for the proposed strategies.

 A timeline specifying when the components of the proposed strategies will take place.

 Proposed evaluation and feedback processes that will be used to determine whether these strategies yield the intended outcomes.

 Differentiation between your specific contributions to the development of this plan and the contributions of other individuals, group members, and/or relevant stakeholders.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Artifact #3: Findings, Feedback, and Recommendations

In a report of up to three single-spaced pages (up to 1,500 words), describe how you collected feedback from the school leaders, the leadership team, and other stakeholders about the proposed plan, and synthesized and interpreted the feedback. It is critical to collect and describe the feedback beyond a surface level, and to include focused feedback collected in the planning phase as well as after the plan was developed. The report should include the following information:

 Identification (by role) of which individuals from the leadership team, staff, and other stakeholders provided feedback on the proposed plan.

 A synthesis and interpretation of their feedback that includes the following information:

• How comprehensive the plan is in its focus, theory of action, and proposed strategies for improving the performance of the target student group(s) in the priority area.

• How relevant the proposed strategies are for the following:

o The school’s priorities.

o The priority academic area.

o The identified needs of the specific student group(s).

o The school culture, climate, and context.

o Alignment to the district plan.

• The quality and comprehensiveness of the proposed strategies.

• The feasibility of the proposed plan for implementation in the school.

• Suggested revisions based on the feedback.

 An explanation of how the final plan was revised to incorporate their feedback.

NOTE: All supporting documents, reports, and tables of data that are referenced in these artifacts must be included in the appropriate Category of documents below and be appropriately cited.

Documents by Category

Documents that must be submitted are supporting materials used by you and the working groups to complete the task. These documents provide supporting evidence pertaining to the task work and are necessary to inform scoring.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

In addition to the artifact files described above, you must submit the following documents used in the task, using a separate file for each of these five file categories:

 Category #1: Student demographic and other relevant school context and student performance information.

 Category #2: The school’s existing vision, mission, and school improvement plan.

 Category #3: School and district priorities.

 Category #4: Data collection forms (e.g., surveys, interview guides) used to gather additional information.

 Category #5: Forms (surveys or interview questions) used to collect feedback from the leadership team and other stakeholders about relevance, quality, comprehensiveness, and feasibility of the proposed plan and a summary of the feedback data collected.

Commentary

You must submit a clearly presented and well-focused written commentary that explains how you accomplished the task.

Write a personal commentary of up to two single-spaced pages (up to 1,000 words) on your own learning and leadership development throughout this experience. Avoid simply recapping the steps you took to complete the task and focus on the analysis of your leadership for developing a vision of high-quality student achievement and a plan for improving student learning in a priority academic area. Base your analysis on the leadership skills you used in developing the plan for Task 1 and in soliciting and using feedback to revise it to improve the performance of the target student group(s) in the priority academic area. It is critical to include your own learning about your leadership skills and practices. Identify what worked well, what could be improved in your leadership skills and practices, and what adjustments you made to your leadership practices as you worked to complete this task.

The commentary should not be a description of all of the actions you took to complete the task or a reiteration of the work accomplished, which has been covered in other artifacts and documents. Rather, identify and describe the leadership skills you used over the course of the Task 1 project. Where applicable, provide examples of these leadership skills in action. Be sure to reflect upon the leadership skills you used and describe how your leadership skills developed or changed over the course of the Task 1 project.

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Specifically address your leadership skills and practices in response to the following questions about aspects of this task:

 What leadership skills did you use to determine what data to collect and analyze to identify the priority academic area and target student group(s)? What particular lessons did you learn that shaped your leadership approach?

 What leadership skills did you use to engage others in the process to identify the priority area and target student group, develop a theory of action, determine action strategies, and create the plan? Describe any adjustments you made to your leadership practices throughout the task. How did your leadership skills change over time?

 What leadership skills did you use to construct a compelling argument to gain support for the proposed plan and solicit feedback to improve the plan? What needs did you face and what successes did you achieve?

 What leadership skills did you use to gain input and guidance throughout the process and feedback on the draft plan? What would you do differently to increase engagement in the process? Include specific examples of what worked well and how you would improve your leadership skills for the future in developing a vision of high-quality student achievement and a plan for improving student learning.

 What feedback did you receive from school leaders and other stakeholders (e.g., students, teachers, and/or parents and community members) regarding your leadership during Task 1, and how can you use this feedback to improve your leadership practices moving forward?

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Task 1 NCPPA Evidence Chart

This chart provides a list of all required work products for NCPPA Task 1, as well as a description of supported file types for submission. Your NCPPA work products must conform to the artifact, document, category, and commentary specifications for each task. Candidates are required to submit all artifacts, commentary, and relevant documents without any information that would identify them (e.g., candidate name), their school or district, individual students, staff, and others who were part of task completion.

Note that your evidence cannot contain hyperlinks to required uploads. Any web content you wish to include as part of your evidence must be submitted as a document file, which must conform to the file type requirements listed below.

Please refer directly to the “Artifacts, Documents, and Commentary” section of Task 1 in this handbook for detailed requirements pertaining to the intent and content requirements of each file.

NCPPA Task 1 Evidence Chart: Leadership through a Vision for High Student Achievement

Part Work Product / Evidence Specifications (if identified)

# of Files

Acceptable File Types*

Part A Confidentiality and Anonymity Template provided

1 .doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf

Part B Artifact #1 - Priority Area and Its Context Max 3 single- spaced pages (no more than 1,500 words)

1 .doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf

Part C Artifact #2 - The Plan for Action Strategies Max 4 single- spaced pages (no more than 2,000 words)

1 .doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Part Work Product / Evidence Specifications (if identified)

# of Files

Acceptable File Types*

Part D Artifact #3 - Findings, Feedback, and Recommendations

Max 3 single- spaced pages (no more than 1,500 words)

1 .doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf

Part E Category Documents

1) School Context and Demographics

2) School Mission and Improvement Plan

3) School and District Priorities

4) Data Collection Forms

5) Feedback

Separate file(s) for each of these 5 file categories

5 .doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf

Part F Commentary 2 single-spaced pages (no more than 1,000 words)

1 .doc; .docx; .odt; .pdf

*The maximum size for any individual file is 500 megabytes (MB). There is no limit on the number of MB uploaded for an entire task. The success of an upload through any application depends heavily on the type of network, the file size, and the network capacity at upload time.

Note:

Scorers are not required to read artifacts and commentary that either exceed or do not meet the requirements. Submissions that fall far short of the required word length are likely to lack sufficient information and detail, which would adversely affect how the scorers evaluate the work products and thus the candidate’s potential score.

If any submitted materials do not meet the Submission Requirements listed on the program website, a condition code may be applied during the scoring process instead of a numerical score. If a condition code is applied to any indicator, the entire task will be unscorable. If your complete submission, or portions thereof, cannot be scored due to failure to meet Submission Requirements, no refund will be issued and no portion of your assessment fee can be applied to the cost of any future NCPPA registration or associated services.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Please consult the program website to review submission requirements, passing standards, and other policies related to submitting and scoring of NCPPA Tasks.

Submission Readiness

Scorers will be reviewing your submission to determine if you have complied with the Submission Requirements listed on the program website. If your submission does not meet the Submission Requirements, a condition code may be applied during the scoring process instead of a numerical score. If a condition code is applied to any indicator or rubric, the entire task will be unscorable.

Review the “Task 1 NCPPA Evidence Chart” in the Task 1 section of this handbook and on the Candidates/Resources page of the program website to confirm your completion of all required work products and specifications.

Before submitting, have you:

 Appropriately blinded your submission with all candidate, school, district, staff, and student identifying information removed?

Candidates are required to submit all artifacts, commentary, and relevant documents without any information that would identify them (e.g., candidate name), their school or district, individual students, staff, and others who were part of task completion. This includes screenshots, identifiable school logos and emblems, web addresses, URLs, and website graphics. Candidates must use generic labels (e.g., Principal A, School B, Teacher C, Teacher D), and not aliases, pseudonyms, or first names (e.g., Ms. Smith, Mr. Jones, Sally, Tom).

 Completed and uploaded the Confidentiality and Anonymity Form for this task?

To confirm that the work has been appropriately blinded, candidates must submit a completed Confidentiality and Anonymity Form with each task submission, in which they confirm that they have removed all personally identifying information (e.g., candidate name) and the names of their school, district, staff, and others.

The editable Confidentiality and Anonymity Form is provided within the ePortfolio system. Candidates are required to check the boxes and upload this form for each task.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

 Addressed a priority academic area for the school?

A priority academic area is an area in which improved student performance is desired, with input from staff at the school and district level, and with attention to student groups that are a priority in the school.

 Cited supporting documents?

Candidates are to cite supporting documents, submitted for each task, in the relevant artifacts for the same task.

Is the submission complete in that it contains all supporting documents in each category? Hyperlinks provided in lieu of required uploads are not permissible.

 Clarified your role?

Candidates must explain their role in completing the tasks to ensure authenticity of work being submitted.

In addition, you must describe any and all points of collaboration with any other individual(s), include the rationale or purpose of the collaboration, and clearly state your role in the collaboration and the role(s) of your collaborators. Have you provided appropriate attribution(s) so that scorers are able to differentiate your original work from the work of others?

 Demonstrated feedback collection and use of feedback evidence?

Throughout the three tasks, candidates are asked to collect, analyze, and use feedback on plans, strategies, and collaborative work. In written submissions and supporting documents, candidates must demonstrate that feedback was collected; report on the number and roles of people interviewed, surveyed, or consulted; present analyses; and draw conclusions about the feedback. It is insufficient to present only the candidate’s conclusions about feedback received.

 Proofread all documents?

Candidates are to proofread all documents before uploading to:

• Remove all names of the candidate, school, district, staff, and student identifying information.

• Correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Candidates are strongly encouraged to compare each artifact against the instructions and rubrics before submission to ensure relevance and completeness.

After uploading into the ePortfolio system and before submitting, candidates are required to check their work to ensure that they do not upload duplicate artifacts and documents or blank files, and that every file can be opened without error.

 Prepared all documents by category?

Submitted documents should be specific to the task and discussed and referenced in the relevant artifact(s). Complete school report cards, school improvement plans, and school handbooks should not be uploaded as documents. Only relevant tables of information or plan and handbook excerpts should be uploaded as category documents and discussed and referenced in the appropriate artifacts.

Documents must be legible. Handwritten agendas and minutes, for example, must be readable.

 Included an analysis of your leadership skills in the commentary?

The analysis of the candidate’s leadership skills should be emphasized, regardless of whether the candidate feels the work on each task was successful. Include a description of how challenges were approached. Candidates should describe in detail, with specific examples, their leadership role throughout this task. Candidates should reflect on their leadership strengths and areas for growth, taking into consideration feedback gathered from relevant stakeholders.

 Reviewed the rubrics for this task?

Read the descriptions of each rubric in the next section. The rubrics will be used to score candidates’ work. Before submitting, candidates are strongly encouraged to evaluate their work using the rubrics.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Task 1: Leadership through a Vision for High Student Achievement Rubrics

How Will the Evidence of Your Leadership Practice Be Assessed?

As you prepare your artifacts and commentary, use the following rubrics to guide your thinking, planning, action, analysis, and presentation.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Rubric 1.a: Investigate and Prepare a Vision

NC Standard 1. Strategic Leadership

How does the candidate gather and analyze data to identify a priority academic area and target student group?

The primary sources of evidence for Rubric 1.a are Artifact #1, Category Documents, and Commentary.

In addition to these primary sources, relevant information found in other parts of the submission may impact the score for each rubric.

Beginning (1.00 to 2.09) Developing (2.10 to 2.74) Meeting (2.75 to 3.49) Exceeding (3.50 to 4.00)

1.a.1: Data collection

Collects data on just one data element. Limits data collection to only one or two years. Does not collect information for one or more student groups or designate a target student group.

Collects data on two or more elements. Makes a weak connection between the selection of the priority academic area and the data collected. Collects data for at least one quantitative and at least one qualitative element. Collects two or more years of data for at least one element. Collects data for at least one student group and designates a target student group. Collects little or no data that clarify the target student group’s learning needs in the priority academic area.

Collects data on three or more elements. Makes a clear connection between the selection of the priority academic area and the data collected. Collects data for at least two quantitative or at least two qualitative elements. Collects three or more years of data for at least one data element. Collects data for two or more student groups and designates a target student group. Collects some data from relevant stakeholders about performance and/or student culture that help to clarify some reasons for the target student group’s learning needs.

Collects data on three or more elements. Generates a hypothesis about the underperformance of the student groups in a priority area to guide data collection. Collects data for at least two quantitative AND at least two qualitative elements. Collects three or more years of data for at least one data element. Collects data for two or more student groups and designates at least one target student group. Collects data from relevant stakeholders that clarify the reasons for the target student group’s learning needs.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Beginning (1.00 to 2.09) Developing (2.10 to 2.74) Meeting (2.75 to 3.49) Exceeding (3.50 to 4.00)

1.a.2: Data analysis and priority definition

Provides little or no analysis except to state the priority area or student group. Presents some data, with little to no connection to the priority academic area or target student group.

Presents some analysis of the data collected, with a weak connection to the identified priority academic area and target student group.

Presents a comprehensive analysis of data collected with a clear connection to identify the priority academic area and target student group. Connects the data analysis and identification of the priority area and target student group to school and district goals.

Analyzes, integrates, and interprets relevant data elements across multiple years to identify the priority academic area and target student group. Generates a defensible hypothesis about how to improve student performance in a priority area, based on the data collected and analyzed. Makes a clear connection to existing school and district goals.

1.a.3: Evaluation of existing policies, practices, and programs

Does not consider existing policies, practices, and programs in describing the priority area and student needs.

Identifies some existing policies, practices, and programs, with limited connection to the priority academic area and student needs.

Evaluates relevant existing policies, practices, and programs and identifies their strengths and challenges in relation to the priority area and student needs.

Evaluates relevant existing policies, practices, and programs and generates a hypothesis about how changes in them could lead to improved student performance in the priority area.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Rubric 1.b: Design an Integrated Plan for Strategies to Develop and Implement Improvement in the Priority Academic Area

NC Standard 1. Strategic Leadership

NC Standard 2. Instructional Leadership

NC Standard 4. Human Resource Leadership

NC Standard 6. External Development Leadership

How does the candidate design a vision and plan to improve student learning?

The primary sources of evidence for Rubric 1.b are Artifact #2 and Commentary.

In addition to these primary sources, relevant information found in other parts of the submission may impact the score for each rubric.

Beginning (1.00 to 2.09) Developing (2.10 to 2.74) Meeting (2.75 to 3.49) Exceeding (3.50 to 4.00)

1.b.1: Vision plan and focus

Presents no vision. Proposes one general goal with no outcome- based objectives. Generally describes an area of focus. Does not reflect the school context or school culture in the plan.

Presents a weakly articulated vision. Identifies at least one well-defined goal with specific student performance objectives. Creates a plan focus that generally reflects the analyzed data, school context, and school culture.

Presents a vision, well- defined goal(s), and specific student performance objectives. Makes clear connections between the data analysis and the vision, goals and objectives, and a plan focus that reflects school context and culture.

Presents a coherent and compelling vision, with well-defined measurement-based goals and objectives. Draws on the findings from the data analysis and explains how school context and culture are related to the vision, goals, and priorities. Presents a clearly articulated theory of action that relates the vision, goals and objectives, and plan focus. Takes into account the gaps and opportunities in existing school policies and practices in stating the vision, goals, objectives, and plan focus.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Beginning (1.00 to 2.09) Developing (2.10 to 2.74) Meeting (2.75 to 3.49) Exceeding (3.50 to 4.00)

1.b.2: Solicitation of input from teachers and other stake- holders

Solicits no input from key stakeholders at any time during the planning process.

Solicits some input from some stakeholders that minimally helps to inform the selection of strategies to improve student performance.

Solicits input and guidance from relevant stakeholders that directly inform the selection of strategies to improve student performance.

Solicits strategic input and guidance from relevant stakeholders that inform the selection of plan strategies and their implementation details.

1.b.3: Plan details

Identifies one or two strategies without sufficient details to implement. Makes no connection between the strategies and the desired student performance.

Describes one or two strategies, along with responsibilities and resources, and some implementation details. Makes limited connections between the plan strategies and how they will improve on the quality of learning that is already taking place. Makes little connection to the school context and culture.

Describes two or more relevant strategies, along with specific details about the responsibilities and resources required to implement them. Explains how the strategies relate to accomplish specific proposed student outcomes. Aligns the plan to school context and culture.

Describes two or more strategies with extensive details about the responsibilities and resources required to implement them. Makes clear and coherent connections between the analysis of the data, school culture, and how the plan’s strategies relate to improve student performance. Aligns the plan to school context and student culture and provides clear evidence of feasibility.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Rubric 1.c: Assess and Analyze Feedback from Participants

NC Standard 2. Instructional Leadership

NC Standard 3. Cultural Leadership

How does the candidate use feedback in analyzing and planning for the priority academic area?

The primary sources of evidence for Rubric 1.c are Artifact #3 and Commentary.

In addition to these primary sources, relevant information found in other parts of the submission may impact the score for each rubric.

Beginning (1.00 to 2.09) Developing (2.10 to 2.74) Meeting (2.75 to 3.49) Exceeding (3.50 to 4.00)

1.c.1: Plan feedback

Provides no evidence of collecting feedback on the plan. Provides no evidence of plan revision.

Attempts to collect some school leaders’ feedback, but provides minimal documentation in discussing the feedback. Collects feedback that is minimally related to the plan’s quality or relevance for improving student learning in the priority area. Shows little or no evidence of soliciting feedback to improve the plan that could lead to revisions.

Collects, analyzes, and interprets specific feedback from school leaders on the quality and relevance of the plan for improving student performance in the priority area. Solicits some input or feedback from other stakeholders. Shows how leaders’ feedback was used to shape the final plan.

Collects, analyzes, and interprets detailed feedback from school leaders and other stakeholders on the quality and relevance of the plan for improving student performance in the priority area. Provides detailed evidence on how feedback was used to make specific revisions to the plan.

NCPPA Candidate Assessment Handbook

Beginning (1.00 to 2.09) Developing (2.10 to 2.74) Meeting (2.75 to 3.49) Exceeding (3.50 to 4.00)

1.c.2: Assessment of leadership skills and practices

Discusses leadership in general, if at all, and with little attention to this task.

Conducts a general analysis of some leadership skills and practices used in completing this task, without drawing on specific experiences. Recaps the steps taken in completing the task with little evaluation of their leadership skills.

Evaluates relevant leadership skills and practices needed to complete this task by drawing on specific experiences. Identifies what worked well and what they could have done differently. Identifies changes that could be made to improve their leadership skills in the future.

Evaluates relevant leadership skills and practices needed to complete this task, based on experiences, and describes how they adjusted leadership practices throughout the task. Solicited feedback on their leadership skills from stakeholders involved in this task. Identifies what worked well and what they could have done differently and proposes specific steps to improve their practice.