Instructional Leadership
Standards
(ILS)

The School Administrator Standards and Indicators were determined as a result of a rigorous review of existing administrator leadership standards, including but not limited to the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISSLC) and the National Board of Administrator Leadership Standards (NBPLS). Based on these standards, and in an explicit effort to align the administrator evaluation with the Standards and Indicators identified in the teacher framework, the Teachers and Leaders Council (TLC) identified the four high-leverage Instructional Leadership Standards identified below. As with the Teacher Framework, this approach operationalizes a narrowed focus to ensure that due concentration is paid to the effectiveness and fidelity of implementation. The four high-leverage Instructional Leadership Standards are:

• Creating and Sustaining a Focus on Learning

• Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Continuous Improvement

• Creating and Sustaining Productive Relationships

• Creating and Sustaining Structures

Included in this course are a variety of resources to give you a better understanding of the NEPF Standards and Indicators.

Instructional Leadership Standards Rubric 

The Instructional Leadership Standards Rubric outlines the Standards and Indicators, identifies mandatory and confirmatory pieces of evidence that can be used by educators and evaluators to demonstrate proof of practice, and a breakdown of the performance levels for each Standard and Indicator. 

NEPF Administrator Descriptor Key Words

This course also includes the NEPF Administrator Descriptor Key Words. While the performance levels are explained on the rubric itself, this resource is provided to help educators and evaluators more easily differentiate between the levels by noting key descriptor words for each level (common language). The performance levels are not intended to be used during the observation cycle, but rather at the end of the evaluation cycle to assess practice on the Summative Evaluation. Educators should only be scored after multiple observations have been conducted and all evidence has been reviewed. 

Instructional Leadership Standards: Examples in Action

Another resource included in this course is the Instructional Leadership Standards: Examples in Action document. The ILS Rubric does provide some additional guidance for educators in the Description/Notes column; however, this resource provides specific instructional leadership practices that can be used/may be observed as evidence for each of the aligned Standards and Indicators. This resource is merely a guide to help administrators identify some strategies they can use in their daily practice and help evaluators identify some strategies they may observe when they supervise administrators. It is, by no means, an exhaustive list.