Evaluation Webinar, discussing assurance guidelines, and McREL Evaluation

Click here for the a pdf file of the powerpoint from the March 13 Webinar.

Partners in Delivering High Quality Training

The McREL program is a statistically proven methodology designed to provide building administrators with the necessary leadership skills to improve student learning. KASB and Kansas education service centers have formed a partnership to bring the building administrator training to all regions of the state. Partners include ESSDACK (Hutchinson), Smoky Hill Service Center (Salina), Greenbush (Girard and Topeka), Southwest Plains Regional Service Center (Sublette) and South Central Kansas Education Service Center (Clearwater).

Using the powerful resources of McREL, combined with the expertise and support from both KASB and service-center staff, KASB now delivers cost-effective training while minimizing the time away from the building and district.

Classroom Instruction that Works

"Good teaching makes a difference" is a consistent finding in current literature. For a decade, Classroom Instruction that Works has helped teachers turn research into practice with instructional strategies that raise achievement for every type of student, in every classroom. McREL's Classroom Instruction that Works presents an overview of the best instructional practices as found in the research literature and then shows how these practices can be implemented in the classroom. Participants learn the powerful instructional strategies that are generally effective with any student, at any grade level, in any subject area.  

You will - 
•  Discover how instructional strategies may be used to enhance student achievement.
•  Understand different types of knowledge, how they are learned and how they should be taught.
•  Learn how instructional strategies can be matched to the different types of knowledge.
•  Understand how to use instructional strategies in unit planning.

Evaluation Systems to Improve Instruction

KASB provides training and support for McREL evaluation systems:




The McREL Superintendent Evaluation System gives boards a professional tool to assess the superintendent based on effective, proven research-based strategies. The superintendent takes the lead in conducting the evaluation process through self-assessment, reflection and gathering input from various stakeholders with an interest in the leadership in the district, including members of the district’s board of education. The system will:

•   Serve as a guide for superintendents as they reflect upon and improve their effectiveness as district leaders; 
•   Inform higher education programs in developing the content and requirements of degree programs that prepare future superintendents; 
•   Focus the goals and objectives of districts as they support, monitor, and evaluate principals and other key district staff; 
•   Guide professional development for the superintendent as well as other district employees; and 
•   Serve as a tool in developing coaching and mentoring programs for superintendents.


The McREL Instructional Central Office Staff Evaluation System follows a similar process as the superintendent evaluation system.  The central office staff takes the lead in conducting the evaluation process through self-assessment, reflection and gathering input from various stakeholders with an interest in the leadership in the district, including the superintendent. The system is based on research-based strategies that have been prove to be effective. The system will:

•    Serve as a guide for instructional central office staff members as they reflect upon and improve their effectiveness as district leaders;
•    Inform higher education programs in developing the content and requirements of degree programs that prepare future instructional central office staff members;
•    Focus the goals and objectives of districts as they support, monitor, and evaluate principals and other key district staff; 
•    Guide professional development for the instructional central office staff member as well as other district employees; and
•    Serve as a tool in developing coaching and mentoring programs for instructional central office staff members.

McREL's Principal Evaluation System provides both an easy-to-use tool for evaluating school administrators and professional development that explains the "why" and "how" of measuring against behaviors that research suggests are linked to higher levels of student performance. By benchmarking school leaders against the behaviors of highly effective principals, our evaluation system provides feedback to guide principals' professional growth and help them improve their performance while raising student achievement.

In addition, this evaluation system helps districts to recognize excellence, especially those principals who have mastered critical competencies and can serve as exemplars, role models, and coaches for others. The system provides everyone—principals and those who evaluate them—with clear, concrete measures of critical competencies. We teach evaluators how to consistently apply these measures. 

Measure what matters most - Because it’s based on our Balanced Leadership® research on effective school leaders, this evaluation system measures principal performance on those behaviors that matter most. To learn more, download an informational brochure (pdf).
Teacher Evaluation
With the changes in state department accreditation, districts are required to evaluate their teacher evaluation model. KASB supports the McREL Teacher Evaluation System. It is aligned with national standards for teachers and reflects the latest research on effective teaching. The system challenges teachers, identifying opportunities for improvement and providing a road map for professional growth. It provide everyone - teachers and those who evaluate them - with clear, concrete measures of critical competencies. Staff development training for principals teaches them how to consistently apply these measures, and the evaluation instruction has been scientifically validated. To learn more, download an informational brochure (pdf). 

Monitoring the System to Improve Quality and Consistency

Power Walkthroughs
The McREL classroom observation software is an invaluable tool to help school leaders turn their regular informal classroom observations into 'power walkthroughs.' Research from McREL's Classroom Instruction that Works, Second Edition, and Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works forms the basis for this software and the template. The template allows you to add any observational elements your district specifically requires.

The software works in wireless and non-wireless environments. Once in a wireless environment, the walkthroughs are simply uploaded from your device to our secure website. You can then analyze your data, selecting from among more than 10 different types of reports. Data can be disaggregated from the district level down to a specific content, grade level, or teacher.