Elementary Principal Perception of the Texas Principal Evaluation Support System (T-PESS)
Clarence Williams, Ed.D; Melissa Arrambide, Ed.D; Chuck Holt, Ed.D

Abstract
The new era of school reform initiatives by federal and legislative mandates at the state level has ushered in a level of increased importance being placed on the evaluation of principals. The purpose of this research study specifically was to explore elementary principals’ perceptions of the usefulness of the Texas Principal Evaluation Support System (T-PESS) evaluation process in enhancing their leadership capacity and growth. Criterion sampling was used in this research study. Afast-growth North Texas school district was selected for this study based on the assumption that the principals within that district possess knowledge and experience with the phenomenon of interest (i.e., the implementation of T-PESS) and thus wereable to provide information that is both detailed and broad in perspective. From the perspective of qualitative research methodology, the district selected is representative of the larger population because it meets the same criteria, which, in this case, performs an explicit role in the implementation of the T-PESS evaluation process. The study participants werecomprised of 10 elementary campus principals, with each participant in the study meeting the following criteria: (a) has a minimum 2 years of experience as a principal, (b) works on a campus that has been established for at least 3 years, and (c) is currently participating in the T-PESS evaluation systems in the state of Texas. The data for this qualitative study were collected from questionnaire responses and semi-structured interviews.

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