Comparing CALL and VAL-ED: An Illustrative Application of a Decision Matrix for Selecting Among Leadership Feedback Instruments
WCER Working Paper No. 2015-05
Peter Goff, Jason Salisbury, and Mark Blitz
October 2015, 30 pp.
ABSTRACT: Initiatives to increase leadership accountability coupled with efforts to promote data-driven leadership have led to widespread adoption of instruments to assess school leaders. In this paper we present a decision matrix that practitioners and researchers can use to facilitate instrument selection. Our decision matrix focuses on the psychometric properties of the instrument; the model of leadership used to construct the instrument; the feasibility of implementation; and the extent to which feedback lends itself to changes in behavior (actionability). We apply this decision matrix to two of the most prominent leadership feedback instruments, CALL and VAL-ED. We find substantial similarities between the instruments, yet each has unique strengths and drawbacks. We discuss the implications of the comparative strengths and drawbacks of the two instruments and how they might be most effectively deployed to improve leadership practices.
keywords: leadership feedback, organizational development, instructional leadership, data-driven leadership
