SBL · High-Yield Cheatsheet · NY School Leadership Prep

Why this page is worded the way it is The performance indicators below are the framework's own language, lightly compressed. That matters: NYSED’s own “plan a course of study” guidance says to “utilize key phrases and integrate the competencies, knowledge & skills into your writing.” Graders are reading for this vocabulary. The framework is also, in NYSED's words, the only source that specifies the knowledge and skills measured by the assessment.

The test design, exactly

Part	Competency	SR items	SR % of score	Performance tasks	PT % of score
One (109)	0001 Instructional Leadership for Student Success	25	25%	1 extended (60 min)	30%
	0002 School Culture & Learning Environment	16	15%	2 shorter (30 min each)	30%
	Total	41	40%	3	60%
Two (110)	0001 Developing Human Capital	0	0%	Video observation (70 min) + 4-task set (70 min)	55%
	0002 Family & Community Engagement	10	10%	1 shorter (40 min)	20%
	0003 Operational Systems, Data Systems & Legal Guidelines	16	15%	—	—
	Total	26	25%	3	75%

Source: NYSED, Fields 109/110: Revised (May 2019) School Building Leader Assessment Design and Framework, April 2020 (© 2023). Four hours of testing time per part; 4:15 total appointment. Passing scaled score 520, each part scored separately.

The two facts that should reshape your studying Developing Human Capital has no selected-response items at all — it is 55% of Part Two and it is tested entirely through writing. And Operational Systems / Data / Legal is 16 of Part Two's 26 items, the biggest selected-response block anywhere on the assessment.

Part One · Field 109

0001

Instructional Leadership for Student Success

25 items · 25% + 30%

Leads the community in developing and implementing a shared mission and vision of high learning and well-being for each student, and effective, research-supported, culturally responsive instruction in every classroom. Uses data to analyze patterns, set ambitious goals, and build, monitor and revise plans.

Developing and modelling, in collaboration with school and community members, a mission and vision of student-centered education, equity and inclusiveness, technology integration and digital citizenship, and college and career readiness for each student
Collecting, analyzing and using data to set mission-aligned goals; developing implementation plans; monitoring, evaluating and revising plans as needed
Establishing and monitoring a coherent, challenging, technologically rich, culturally responsive curricular system aligned to the NYS P–12 Learning Standards, within and across grade levels
Planning, supervising and supporting rigorous, equitable, culturally responsive instructional and assessment systems based on research- or evidence-based best practices
Leading collaborative efforts to use assessment data to monitor progress, evaluate curriculum and identify instructional needs — including recognizing the effects of systemic biases on data analysis
Ensuring instructional practices that are developmentally appropriate, equitable and culturally responsive, build on student strengths, and serve students with diverse characteristics and needs (ELLs, students with disabilities)
Making equitable use of technology and information systems to support learning and monitor effectiveness
Maximizing time on quality instruction and protecting instruction from disruption
Establishing monitoring and accountability systems to evaluate the instructional program's impact
Recognizing changing expectations and emerging trends, and advocating on behalf of each student
Leading continuous improvement and change processes — communicating openly, diagnosing needs, promoting coherence, instilling accountability, supporting stakeholders

0002

School Culture and Learning Environment to Promote Excellence, Equity, and Social Justice

16 items · 15% + 30%

Develops and sustains a culture of high expectations, equity and inclusiveness, and caring and trust. Creates a safe, supportive, fair environment; advocates for social justice and confronts disproportionality; ensures student academic, behavioral and social-emotional needs are at the center of all decision-making.

Articulating core values and maintaining a culture of high expectations, love of learning, student support, shared accountability for academic excellence, racial equity, social justice, confronting disproportionality, and well-being for each student
Ensuring faculty and staff set and maintain high academic and behavior expectations for all students
Promoting an environment where school engagement, active learning, digital citizenship and positive behavior are expected and supported
Navigating uncertainty, risk and competing initiatives, keeping student needs the primary consideration in all decision-making and resource use
Creating a personalized, motivating, safe, supportive and equitable learning environment; allocating resources, technologies and opportunities equitably
Establishing coherent and equitable systems of academic, behavioral and social supports, including services, technologies and accommodations
Promoting a learning environment that embraces the cultural and linguistic diversity of the community as an asset for teaching and learning
Ensuring full and equitable access to programs, curricula and supports; recognizing and confronting implicit and institutional biases that impede access and opportunity
Using and monitoring equitable positive behavior systems and social-emotional supports, including recognizing the impact of adverse childhood experiences
Implementing and evaluating procedures for preventing and resolving conflicts equitably
Using data to evaluate the culture and learning environment and driving its continuous improvement
Modelling integrity, fairness, transparency, perseverance, cultural responsiveness and the belief that each student can learn — and expecting the same of others

Part Two · Field 110

0001

Developing Human Capital to Improve Faculty and Staff Effectiveness and Student Achievement

0 items · 55% via writing

Recruits and retains a diverse, effective faculty; develops professional capacity; builds a professional learning community; uses effective observation and evaluation practice; provides differentiated growth opportunities; adheres to human resource requirements.

Recruiting, developing and retaining a diverse faculty and staff committed to the school's mission and to the success and well-being of all students
Assigning and scheduling faculty strategically to meet student needs and allocate resources equitably
Designing effective induction and mentoring plans; managing turnover and succession
Maintaining a professional learning community characterized by collaboration, teamwork and trust; reflective practice; innovation and problem-solving; action research; ethical and equitable practice
Creating individualized professional growth plans and using supervisory approaches matched to individual strengths and needs
Supervising, observing and evaluating performance using approved systems, and providing actionable and effective feedback
Collaborating with faculty to develop high-quality coaching, workshops, team meetings and other professional learning that sustains growth and cultural responsiveness
Mentoring emerging leaders, cultivating and distributing leadership, and creating a diverse leadership pipeline
Acting in accordance with law and policy on human resource administration, collective bargaining and contract management, and issues of equity, ethics, diversity and fairness

0002

Family and Community Engagement

10 items · 10% + 20%

Ensures the school is accessible to families and community; communicates regularly; sustains collaboration and engagement; treats community cultural, social, financial and intellectual resources as assets; advocates; collaborates with district schools and offices.

Ensuring the school and its staff are accessible and welcoming to families and community members
Guiding staff to build positive relationships with parents/guardians, recognize funds of knowledge in students' families, and engage them in learning in and out of school
Maintaining a presence in the community; communicating regularly in families' preferred mode; engaging families in planning and implementing school improvement
Promoting family engagement and developing partnerships with families and community to achieve school goals
Building productive partnerships with business and industry, higher education, nonprofits, government agencies and other community resources to access and integrate external resources
Ensuring the school is a resource for families and community, and responding to diverse interests and needs
Establishing systems for two-way communication, including media relations, digital communication and public information strategies
Advocating for the needs and priorities of students, families, community, school and district
Collaborating with the district office, school board and other district schools, including feeder and connecting schools, per established policies and protocols

0003

Operational Systems, Data Systems, and Legal Guidelines to Support Achievement of School Goals

16 items · 15%

Uses and monitors operational, administrative, technological and fiscal systems in support of the mission; ensures systems support student success and staff well-being; ensures adherence to legal requirements.

Managing and monitoring operational and administrative systems — facilities, technologies, security, food services, transportation, budget oversight, governance
Using technological tools, data systems and communications systems to support management, deliver effective presentations and reports, and promote data literacy and appropriate data use
Planning, managing and monitoring school budgets, using data to inform planning and allocating fiscal resources equitably
Applying knowledge of public school financing, funding sources, strategies for obtaining additional resources such as grants, and requirements on the uses of funding
Using efficient procedures for accurate financial management and accountability — record keeping, reporting and internal controls, consistent with legal requirements
Allocating facilities, technologies, space and time effectively and equitably to provide a safe, secure and healthy environment
Using procedures for building security, information security and privacy, crisis prevention and response planning, and emergency management
Enabling the physical plant and equipment to operate safely and efficiently
Adhering to laws, policies, regulations, professional norms and ethical standards on student, staff and parent/guardian rights; educational equity; student safety and welfare; students with disabilities, English language learners and other protected classes; building management; digital citizenship
Conducting investigations in accordance with district policies, protocols and collective bargaining agreements

How your writing is scored

The same three criteria govern all six constructed responses. Two raters score each response and must agree within one point.

Criterion 1

Completeness

The degree to which the response addresses all parts of the assignment. This is arithmetic, not literary — a skipped sub-prompt costs you regardless of how good the rest is.

Criterion 2

Accuracy

The degree to which the response demonstrates the relevant knowledge and skills accurately and effectively. Bought by quoting the exhibit rather than paraphrasing it.

Criterion 3

Depth of Support & Understanding

Appropriate examples and details showing sound reasoning and a strong understanding of the relevant knowledge and skills — in practice, of the building leader's role.

Score	What it reflects
4	A thorough command of the relevant knowledge and skills
3	A general command — the lowest passing shape
2	A limited command — failing
1	Little or no command — failing
U	Unscorable — off-topic, unreadable, not in English, or insufficient original work
B	No response

The line between a 2 and a 3 Coverage, not eloquence. Most responses land at 2 or 3. What separates them is answering every part, citing the documents by number, justifying each action, and proposing something practical that a real building leader could actually do. Your Resources notes put it plainly: “the lengthy responses are often the weaker or rambling responses.”

Vocabulary that earns points

Use these terms — spelled out on first use — and the grader can find the competency in your writing.

Professional learning community (PLC)Collaboration, teamwork, trust, reflective practice, action research, shared problem-solving, commitment to continuous improvement.

Job-embedded professional learningLearning that happens inside the work — team planning time, coaching, peer observation — rather than a one-off workshop.

Action researchPractitioner inquiry: staff pose a question about their own practice, gather data, act, and evaluate. Legitimate to name as part of a plan.

Needs assessmentThe structured diagnosis step. Almost always the correct opening move of an action plan.

DisproportionalityWhen a subgroup is represented in referrals, suspensions, special education or gifted programs at a rate out of line with enrollment.

Culturally responsive-sustaining educationNYSED's framework; treats students' cultural and linguistic diversity as an asset for teaching and learning.

Funds of knowledgeThe knowledge and skills already present in students' households and communities, which staff should recognize and draw on.

Distributed leadershipCultivating and distributing leadership among faculty; building a diverse leadership pipeline.

Teacher Improvement Plan (TIP)The formal, timeline-bound support plan attached to a Developing or Ineffective rating.

HEDIThe APPR rating categories: Highly Effective, Effective, Developing, Ineffective.

SLOStudent Learning Objective — the required student-performance measure under §3012-d.

Formative vs. interim vs. summativeIn-lesson checks; periodic common assessments; end-of-course or state tests. Know which one a document is showing you.

NYS P–12 Learning Standards (NYSLS)The current standards. The older items say “Common Core” — that is a legacy marker.

Shared Decision-Making Team / SLTThe stakeholder body that should own a schoolwide plan. In NYC, School Leadership Teams under Chancellor's Regulation A-655.

The information-collection toolkitSurveys (anonymous and identified) · data analysis · formal and informal observation · student work · focus groups · informal conversation · review of board policy and state and federal law · visits to other schools · review of the literature.