Through our review of state evaluation and support policies, we also found variation in the level of control that states have over local education agencies' (LEAs’) principal evaluation and support systems, and the degree to which LEAs have flexibility in designing their own systems. 

All states generally fall into the following four categories:

Tier 1: LEAs design their own model with some guidance, but there is no state model and the state does not approve the LEA model

Tier 2: LEAs can adopt or adapt the state model, or design their own model, but the state does not have approval authority over the LEA model

Tier 3: LEAs can adopt or adapt the state model, or design their own model, but the state has approval authority over the LEA model

Tier 4: All LEAs in the state use the same model, unless they have approval from the state to alter the model or use an alternate model

Because of the variability in state authority over evaluation systems, states may be may be focused on compliance monitoring of these systems instead of providing comprehensive implementation support. In states where all LEAs are using the same system, the state is able to build and provide support based on that model. Where states have the option to adopt the state model or design their own model, the state typically provides support to LEAs using the state model but, due to capacity issues, it can be difficult to tailor support to LEAs using something different.