Assignments & Plan Types
Where: Assignments
Every evaluatee needs two things before their evaluation can begin: an assigned evaluator and a plan type. Together these are the most common start-of-year task, and the one most likely to be shared between the district and its schools.
:::tip You don't have to finish everyone at once An evaluator sees an evaluatee only after that person has both an evaluator and a plan type. But this works one evaluatee at a time — evaluators can start on whoever is configured while you work through the rest of the roster. :::
Who can do what
The two halves of this task don't carry the same permissions — assigning an evaluator is more restricted than setting a plan type.
| Role | Assign an evaluator | Set a plan type |
|---|---|---|
| District Admin | Always | Always |
| School Admin | If delegated to the school | If delegated to the school |
| Principal | If delegated to the school | If delegated — and always for evaluatees assigned to them |
| District evaluator (DTE/DPE) | Never | For evaluatees assigned to them |
Note the asymmetry: district evaluators can't assign evaluators at all, and delegation doesn't apply to them — but like any evaluator they can set the plan type for their own evaluatees. See If you're an evaluator below.
Evaluator Assignments
Who: District Admin — or the school, if the district delegates
Each evaluatee needs an assigned evaluator before their evaluation can begin. By default the District Admin assigns evaluators for all schools. The DA can delegate this from the Assignments Summary page, either per school or with Delegate to All Schools.
If your schools will be handling their own assignments, turn delegation on early so they can get started. It's a visible toggle — a school that expects to do its own assignments and can't will notice right away and ask.
:::tip District size Large districts often delegate to reduce central workload; smaller districts may keep assignments centralized for consistency. :::
Who can be assigned to whom
Not every evaluator can be assigned to every evaluatee — it depends on the evaluatee's role:
| Evaluatee | Can Be Assigned To |
|---|---|
| Teachers | Principal at their school, or a District Teacher Evaluator (DTE) |
| Assistant Principals | Head Principal at their school, or a District Principal Evaluator (DPE) |
| Head Principals | District Principal Evaluator (DPE) |
If the evaluator dropdown is empty, it usually means nobody at that location holds the right role for that evaluatee.
Plan Type Configuration
Who: District Admin, the school if the district delegates, or an evaluator for their own evaluatees
Each evaluatee also needs a plan type:
| Plan Type | What It Covers | Who's Eligible |
|---|---|---|
| Comprehensive | All 8 criteria | Everyone |
| Focused | One criterion, chosen by the evaluatee | Must have a prior Proficient or Distinguished rating |
New teachers and principals typically start with Comprehensive. See Plan Type Changes if a plan type needs to change mid-year, and Focused Evaluations for how a Focused cycle works.
If assignments were delegated to your school
For School Admins and principals.
Districts commonly delegate assignments to schools, and when they do, both School Admins and principals can do this work. This is the main start-of-year task for a school — most other configuration arrives from the district and is accepted as-is.
What you do:
- Go to Assignments.
- For each evaluatee at your school, assign an evaluator.
- For each evaluatee, set a plan type — Comprehensive or Focused.
That's the whole task. A few things worth knowing:
- You'll only see this if your district delegated it. If the Assignments page doesn't let you make changes, your district is handling assignments centrally — that's a district setting, not a permissions problem.
- Principals and School Admins do the same job here. Whichever role you hold, the work and the screen are the same.
- Everything else is usually inherited. Modules, settings, and workflow modes come from the district. Schools can override some of them when the district allows it, but most simply accept the district defaults.
If you're an evaluator
For principals and district evaluators.
You can set the plan type yourself for any evaluatee assigned to you — you don't have to wait on an administrator. There are two ways in:
- Assignments — your own view of this screen, listing the evaluatees assigned to you.
- Dashboard → Change Plan Type, which opens the Configure Assignment modal.
District evaluators get plan type only. A District Teacher Evaluator or District Principal Evaluator has an Assignments screen, but it only lets them configure the plan type — they can't assign evaluators, and school delegation doesn't apply to them. Delegation is about a school's staff; district evaluators work across schools.
Principals can assign evaluators as well, but only through the delegated path described above.
Related
- Plan Type Changes — changing a plan type mid-year
- Focused Evaluations — how a Focused cycle works
- Account Status & Access — why an evaluation may show as Pending
- Roles in eVAL — what each role does