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PART OF THE MARZANO EVALUATION SYSTEM

Marzano District Leader Evaluation Model —

Most district leader evaluations are built around board satisfaction and operational metrics. The Marzano District Leader Evaluation Model is built around something more defensible and more useful: a researchbased framework that connects the specific actions of district leaders to what actually happens in schools and classrooms that impacts student achievement.

20 elements across 6 domains — the Marzano District Leader Evaluation Model is the only framework designed from the ground up to function as part of an integrated system, aligned directly to the school leader and teacher evaluation models that sit beneath it.

THE INTEGRATION ADVANTAGE

The only integrated district leader model

Most district leader evaluation frameworks operate in isolation. This is the only model built explicitly to connect superintendent actions to principal effectiveness — and principal effectiveness to teacher growth and student outcomes.

RESEARCH FOUNDATION

30+ years of leadership research

Built on three decades of research connecting district and school administrator behaviors to teacher practices and student achievement outcomes — updated in 2018 to reflect current evidence.

SCOPE

6 domains · 20 elements

Three domains focused on instructional leadership, three on operational leadership — the full scope, and balance, of what effective district leadership actually requires, evaluated against specific evidence and desired effects.

WHY INTEGRATION MATTERS

A district leader evaluated in isolation cannot lead a system that works together.

When district leader evaluation uses different language and different criteria than the frameworks used to evaluate principals and teachers, the whole system fragments. District leaders are rated on one set of behaviors. Principals are rated on another. Teachers on a third. No shared vision. No coherent feedback loop.

The Marzano District Leader Evaluation Model is built to prevent that. Its six domains correspond directly to the six domains in the Focused School Leader Evaluation Model — so when a district leader is evaluated on their support for a guaranteed and viable curriculum, that standard connects explicitly to what their principals are doing in schools, which connects to what teachers are doing in classrooms. The whole system pulls in the same direction.

Without Alignment
  • ✕Superintendent evaluation driven by board satisfaction, budget management, and political factors
  • ✕District leadership development disconnected from school and teacher development
  • ✕No shared vision of what effective instruction looks like at any level of the district
With Alignment
  • ✓District leaders evaluated on the specific actions research shows develop effective principals and drive student outcomes
  • ✓Direct alignment to the school leader model — one coherent vision from the central office to the classroom
  • ✓Evidence-based scoring with specific desired effects — defensible to boards, meaningful for growth

“It’s really important that all of your systems are aligned because then you can speak the same language, no matter what. Everybody is working towards that same vision of instruction and the evaluation tool just points out the different aspects of your model — it helps you make sure that everybody’s together and aligned and it’s cohesive.”

Natalie Schneider

Director of Elementary Education, MSD Lawrence Township

THE FRAMEWORK

6 domains. 20 elements. Two kinds of leadership.

The model is organized into two balanced halves — three domains focused on instructional leadership, three on operational leadership. Both matter. Both are evaluated against specific evidence and desired effects.

Instructional Leadership Domains
1

A Data-Driven Focus to Support Student Achievement

  • Establishing clear, measurable goals focused on critical needs for student achievement
  • Analyzing and interpreting data to monitor progress toward district, school, and student goals
  • Providing appropriate support to schools when data indicate interventions are needed
2

Continuous Support for Improvement of Instruction

  • Providing a clear vision for the district instructional model and its implementation
  • Effectively supporting and retaining school and department leaders through reflection and growth
  • Providing ongoing performance evaluations consistent with student achievement and operational data
  • Ensuring personnel receive job-embedded professional development aligned to their growth goals
3

Continuous Support for a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum

  • Ensuring curriculum and assessment initiatives adhere to federal, state, and district standards
  • Ensuring district-level programs and curricula can be adequately addressed in available time
  • Ensuring each student has equal opportunity to access and learn critical curriculum content
Operational Leadership Domains
4

Community of Care and Collaboration

  • Ensuring constituents perceive the district as caring, collaborative, and cooperative
  • Ensuring equity in a student-centered district with broad constituent input
  • Ensuring leadership development and responsibilities are appropriately delegated and shared
  • Establishing clear guidelines for district policy adherence and autonomous school decision-making
5

District Core Values

  • Demonstrating transparency, effective communication, and ongoing professional growth
  • Earning the trust of constituents — all decisions guided by what is best for each student and the district
  • Ensuring constituents perceive the district as safe and culturally responsive
6

Resource Allocation Management

  • Using systems processes to manage fiscal resources and maximize support for schools, teachers, and students
  • Managing technological resources to provide optimal efficiency and support effective instruction
  • Managing organization, operations, and initiatives to maximize resources that promote instruction and achievement

WHAT’S INCLUDED

A complete framework — not just a rubric.

The district leader model comes with the full implementation support that makes the
Marzano Evaluation Center different from evaluation vendors who hand you a document and walk away.

  • A specific desired effect for each of the 20 elements — so scoring is grounded in evidence, not opinion
  • Sample evidence statements for each element to guide evaluators and district leaders
  • Direct domain-to-domain alignment with the Focused School Leader Evaluation Model.
  • Professional development for evaluators on calibration and evidence-based scoring
  • Can function as a growth model, an evaluation model, or both — flexible to your district's current context
  • iObservation integration available for data collection, reporting, and growth planning

HOW IT FITS THE EVALUATION SYSTEM

The district leader model sits at the top of the Marzano evaluation cascade. When implemented alongside the school leader, and teacher, and non-classroom support models, each level of leadership is evaluated on the behaviors that research shows directly influence the level below.

District leader model

Sets vision · Develops principals · Manages system

School leader model

Translates vision · Develops teachers · Leads instruction

Teachers evaluation

Develops instructional expertise · Drives student growth

Student growth and achievement

See the full evaluation system

WHO THIS MODEL IS FOR

If you evaluate superintendents or other district leaders — or if you are one — this model gives you what most district evaluation frameworks don’t: a research-based structure that connects your leadership directly to what happens in schools.

School boards

A structured, evidence-based framework for superintendent evaluation — so annual reviews are grounded in research rather than board preferences, and feedback is tied to specific leadership behaviors with documented desired effects.

Superintendents

Use the same framework language to evaluate and grow your leaders— creating a coherent line of sight from your office to every classroom in the district. Growthoriented, evidence-based, and aligned to what actually moves student outcomes.

Deputy & assistant

Finally have a structured framework for your own evaluation that mirrors the rigor you’re asking principals and teachers to meet — and that connects your work explicitly to instructional improvement and student outcomes.

This model is one part of the full Marzano evaluation system.

The district leader model is most powerful when implemented alongside the school leader and teacher evaluation frameworks. When every level of leadership is evaluated using aligned language and criteria, feedback compounds — and every professional conversation at every level of the organization reinforces the same vision of effective instruction.

See the full evaluation system →

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Also in the Marzano evaluation system