Two teachers are having a conversation while walking together in a school hallway

The Network for Educator Effectiveness provides schools with a comprehensive system for educator evaluation. The NEE system includes four independent measures for teacher evaluation and four independent measures for principal evaluation.

In addition, NEE provides unique tools to evaluate several school specialist positions, including:

  • Instructional coaches
  • Speech language pathologists
  • Librarians
  • Counselors
  • Paraprofessionals

For other positions, the NEE Professional Responsibility tool provides a flexible template that allows school leaders to evaluate additional school staff.

This blog will provide an overview of NEE’s instructional coach evaluation tool. For more on evaluating other positions, click the links in the list above.

Instructional Coach Standards

The NEE Instructional Coach evaluation tool includes four elements and 15 indicators that were developed in partnership with practicing instructional coaches and their supervisors.  The four overarching elements are:

  • Plans and prepares appropriate classroom instructional supports.
  • Fosters professional growth by establishing a learning environment with teachers.
  • Delivers instructional support that promotes professional growth.
  • Exhibits professionalism to meet coaching responsibilities.

Schools typically select three to five of the indicators for their coaches to complete rather than expecting them to complete all 15 parts. This focused approach allows coaches to select the areas that best reflect their responsibilities and represent opportunities for growth.

Evaluating Instructional Coaches Online

The NEE instructional coach evaluation tool comes together in the NEE Data Tool online evaluation platform. To get started, individuals will need to be designated as an Instructional Coach on their profile page, under the “Positions” section. Then, the Instructional Coach Evaluation organizer will be available by clicking “My Organizers” on the left-side menu.

Instructional Coach Evaluation Timeline

Instructional coach evaluation will begin early in the school year. To start, the instructional coach and their supervisor will select the three to five indicators to be included. The instructional coach will describe how they will meet expectations for each indicator and the evidence that will demonstrate their level of success. They will also complete a time-management component to demonstrate how the coach will spend their time on specific functions.

The instructional coach’s supervisor can review the plan early in the year and guide adjustments as needed. The instructional coach will submit a mid-year review describing their progress and an end-of-year review summarizing their accomplishments. Then, the supervisor will use NEE’s scoring rubric to score each indicator and provide comments at the end of the year.

Additional Evaluation Measures for Instructional Coaches

Instructional coach evaluation might also include a professional development plan. Coaches can use NEE’s Teacher Professional Development Plan to describe and document their personal professional growth, and supervisors can score the PD plan as a component of the coach’s evaluation. A summative report in the NEE Data Tool will bring together the scorings from both the instructional coach evaluation organizer and the PD plan.

Additional Resources for Instructional Coach Evaluation

Additional training and step-by-step guides are available in NEE’s EdHub Library, under the NEE Training Materials topic. NEE schools can also contact the NEE Help Desk or their Member Services representative for additional information and training.

The Network for Educator Effectiveness (NEE) is a simple yet powerful comprehensive system for educator evaluation that helps educators grow, students learn, and schools improve. Developed by preK-12 practitioners and experts at the University of Missouri, NEE brings together classroom observation, student feedback, teacher curriculum planning, and professional development as measures of effectiveness in a secure online portal designed to promote educator growth and development.