Section 30.45  Assessment of the Internship

a)         The principal preparation program shall rate each candidate's level of knowledge and abilities gained and dispositions demonstrated as a result of the candidate's participation in the internship required under Section 30.40 of this Part.  The candidate shall demonstrate competencies listed in subsections (a)(1) through (4) of this Section by the completion during the course of the internship of the tasks specified. 

1)         The candidate conveys an understanding of how the school's mission and vision affect the work of the staff in enhancing student achievement. The candidate understands and is able to perform activities related to data analysis and can use the results of that analysis to formulate a plan for improving teaching and learning.  As evidence of meeting this competency, the candidate shall:

A)        review school-level data, including, but not limited to, State assessment results or, for nonpublic schools, other standardized assessment results; use of interventions; and identification of improvement based on those results;

B)        participate in a school improvement planning (SIP) process, including a presentation to the school community explaining the SIP and its relationship to the school's goals; and

C)        present a plan for communicating the results of the SIP process and implementing the school improvement plan.

2)         The candidate demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of the process used for hiring staff who will meet the learning needs of the students.  The candidate presents knowledge and skills associated with clinical supervision and teacher evaluation, including strong communication, interpersonal, and ethics skills.  The candidate demonstrates the ability to apply the Standards for Professional Learning (2020) promulgated by Learning Forward, 504 South Locust Street, Oxford, Ohio 45056 and posted at https://learningforward.org/standards-for-professional-learning/. No later amendments to or editions of these standards are incorporated by this Section.  As evidence of meeting this competency, the candidate shall:

A)        create a job description, including development of interview questions and an assessment rubric, participate in interviews of candidates, make recommendations for hiring (i.e., rationale for action and supporting data), and prepare letters for candidates not selected;

B)        participate in a model evaluation of a teacher, to include at least notes, observations, student achievement data, and examples of interventions and support, as applicable, based on the evaluation results, with the understanding that no candidate will participate in the official evaluation process for any particular teacher; and

C)        create a professional development plan for the school to include the data used to develop the plan, the rationale for the activities chosen, options for participants, reasons why the plan will lead to higher student achievement, and a method for evaluating the effect of the professional development on staff.

3)         The candidate demonstrates the ability to understand and manage personnel, resources, and systems on a schoolwide basis to ensure adequacy and equity, including contributions of the learning environment to a culture of collaboration, trust, learning, and high expectations; the impact of the budget and other resources on special-needs students, as well as the school as a whole; and management of various systems (e.g., curriculum, assessment, technology, discipline, attendance, transportation) in furthering the school's mission.  As evidence of meeting this competency, the candidate shall:

A)        investigate two areas of the school's learning environment (i.e., professional learning community, school improvement process, professional development, teacher leadership, school leadership teams, cultural proficiency, curriculum, and school climate), to include showing connections among areas of the learning environment, identification of factors contributing to the environment's strengths and weaknesses, and recommendations for improvement of areas determined to be ineffective;

B)        analyze the school's budget, to include a discussion of how resources are used and evaluated for adequacy and effectiveness; recommendations for improvement; and the impact of budget choices, particularly on low-income students, students with disabilities, and English learners; and

C)        review the mission statement for the school, to include an analysis of the relationship among systems that fulfill the school's mission, a description of two of these systems (i.e., curriculum, instruction, assessment, discipline, attendance, maintenance, and transportation) and creation of a rating tool for the systems, and recommendations for system improvement to be discussed with the school's principal.

4)         The candidate demonstrates a thorough understanding of the requirements for, and development of, individualized education programs pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 226.Subpart C, individualized family service plans (IFSP) pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code 226, 20 U.S.C. 1436, and 34 CFR 300.24 (2006), and plans under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794 and 34 CFR 104), including the ability to disaggregate student data, as well as employ other methods for assisting teachers in addressing the curricular needs of students with disabilities.  The candidate can work with school personnel to identify English learners (ELs) and administer the appropriate program and services, as specified under Article 14C of the School Code and 23 Ill. Adm. Code 228 , to address the curricular and academic needs of English learners.  As evidence of meeting this competency, the candidate shall:

A)       use student data to work collaboratively with teachers to modify curriculum and instructional strategies to meet the needs of each student, including ELs and students with disabilities, and to incorporate the data into the School Improvement Plan;

B)        evaluate a school to ensure the use of a wide range of printed, visual, or auditory materials and online resources appropriate to the content areas and the reading needs and levels of each student (including ELs, students with disabilities, and struggling and advanced readers);

C)        in conjunction with special education and bilingual education teachers, identify and select assessment strategies and devices that are nondiscriminatory to be used by the school, and take into consideration the impact of disabilities, methods of communication, cultural background, and primary language on measuring knowledge and performance of students leading to school improvement;

D)       work with teachers to develop a plan that focuses on the needs of the school to support services required to meet individualized instruction for students with special needs (i.e., students with IEPs, IFSPs, or Section 504 plans, ELs, and students identified as gifted);

E)        proactively serve all students and their families with equity and honor and advocate on their behalf, ensuring an opportunity to learn and the well-being of each child in the classroom;

F)        analyze and use student information to design instruction that meets the diverse needs of students and leads to ongoing growth and development of all students; and

G)       recognize the individual needs of students and work with special education and bilingual education teachers to develop school support systems so that teachers can differentiate strategies, materials, pace, levels of complexity, and language to introduce concepts and principles so that they are meaningful to students at varying levels of development and to students with diverse learning needs.

5)         A principal preparation program shall rate a candidate's demonstration of having achieved the competencies listed in subsections (a)(1) through (4) as "meets the standards" or "does not meet the standards" in accordance with Section 30.Appendix A of this Part.

A)        A candidate must achieve a "meets the standards" on each competency in order to successfully complete the internship.

B)        A candidate who fails to achieve a "meets the standards" on any of the four areas of competency may repeat the tasks associated with the failed competency at the discretion of the principal preparation program.

b)         Each candidate shall participate in, and demonstrate mastery of, the standards incorporated in Appendix A. The assessment process and any rubrics to be used shall be submitted as part of the program's application for approval under Section 30.80 of this Part.  Each candidate must earn a rating of "meets standard" or "exceeds standard" in at least 80 percent of the components listed in the candidate assessment rubric incorporated in Appendix A of this Part in order to successfully complete the internship.

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 13103, effective July 13, 2022)