Scaling Evaluation Across States, Rubrics, and Roles: How Charter Networks Maintain Quality at Scale

For large charter networks, instructional quality isn’t challenged by a lack of standards. It’s challenged by too many of them.  

Different states, authorizers, and school models often require unique rubrics, timelines, and reporting structures. What starts as flexibility can quickly become fragmentation, making it difficult for leaders to see trends, support growth, or ensure consistency across schools.

As networks scale, leaders face a critical question.

How do you respect local context while still building a coherent, growth-oriented evaluation system that works across roles and regions?

That question anchored the session titled Scaling Evaluation Across States, Rubrics, and Roles at Education Advanced’s Charter Leadership Exchange, where charter leaders explored what it really takes to scale evaluation without sacrificing instructional quality. The session offered a candid look at the operational and cultural realities of managing evaluation in a multi-state charter network.

The conversation featured Dr. Meredith Ross, Director of Assessment & Accountability at Charter Schools USA, one of the nation’s largest charter management organizations, and was moderated by Dr. Kim Tunnell and Dr. Heidi King.

Key Takeaways from the Session

• Charter leaders need actionable, role-specific data, not just compliance reports, to support high-quality teaching.
• The hardest part of scaling evaluation is managing variation across states and authorizers without losing coherence.
• Successful networks clearly define which elements of evaluation must be consistent and where local flexibility matters.
• Centralization enables visibility and equity, but only when paired with thoughtful implementation.
• Evaluation systems must support multiple staff roles, not just classroom teachers.

What data do charter leaders actually need to support high-quality teaching?

Ross: Leaders don’t need more data; they need the right data. What matters most is being able to see patterns across schools and roles, not just individual scores. When leaders can identify trends, they can provide targeted coaching and professional learning instead of reacting campus by campus.

Insight: At scale, evaluation data becomes most powerful when it shifts from individual documentation to network-level visibility.

What’s the single hardest part of scaling evaluation across states and authorizers?

Ross: Every state and authorizer has different expectations, and those differences don’t disappear when you centralize. The challenge is honoring those requirements without creating a completely different process for every school.

If leaders are managing dozens of rubrics and forms, the system has to do the heavy lifting. Otherwise, complexity takes over and consistency gets lost.

Insight: Scaling evaluation isn’t about eliminating variation; it’s about designing systems that can absorb it.

How do you strike a balance between local autonomy and networkwide consistency?

Ross: Networks have to be very intentional about what’s non-negotiable. There should be shared expectations around instructional quality and feedback, even if the tools or rubrics vary by location.

When schools understand the why behind centralized expectations, autonomy feels supported, not restricted.

Insight: Clear guardrails allow flexibility to exist without undermining equity or quality.

What advice would you give networks just beginning to centralize evaluation?

Ross: Start with clarity. Be clear about your goals, your expectations, and how evaluation connects to growth. And don’t try to do everything at once. Phased implementation makes change manageable.

Most importantly, bring people along. Evaluation works best when educators understand how it supports them, not just how it measures them.

Insight: Centralization succeeds when it’s framed as support, not control.

Turning Complexity into Consistency

This session underscored a core reality for charter networks: complexity is inevitable, but chaos is not. With the right systems and leadership approach, networks can manage variation across states and roles while still maintaining a shared vision for instructional quality.

Evaluation is built to support this level of scale and flexibility. By enabling customizable rubrics, role-specific workflows, and network-level reporting, Evaluation helps charter organizations turn fragmented requirements into a cohesive, growth-oriented system.

Ready to see how Evaluation will support consistency and growth across your charter network?

Book a personalized demo today and learn how leading networks are scaling evaluation with confidence.