5 Questions to Ask Your Principal About Reading Achievement
August 2026
For charter school boards, academic oversight requires more than reviewing an annual assessment report. Board members need a clear understanding of how students are performing, why they are performing at those levels, and what school leadership is doing in response.
Reading achievement deserves particular attention because literacy affects students' ability to access learning across subjects.
Here are five questions every charter school board member should ask the principal.
What does our reading data tell us about student performance?
Ask the principal to move beyond a single proficiency percentage.
Look at student performance by grade level, student group, skill area, and growth. Compare current results with previous assessments.
The goal is to identify where students are succeeding and where achievement gaps remain.
Which students are not meeting reading expectations?
Strong academic oversight requires specificity.
Your principal should be able to identify the students who need additional support and explain how the school is responding.
What are we doing instructionally in response to the data?
Data should lead to action.
Ask your principal what changes have been made to classroom instruction based on student performance.
Look for evidence of changes in instructional practice, intervention, curriculum implementation, professional learning, and progress monitoring. If achievement is not improving, ask what the school is changing.
How are we measuring whether our interventions are working?
Intervention should have a measurable purpose.
A board does not need to manage intervention. The board does need assurance that the school has a system for determining whether its academic investments are producing results.
What is the most important academic priority for the next semester?
End with a forward-looking question.
Ask the principal to identify the one or two reading priorities requiring the greatest leadership attention.
Then ask how the board will know whether progress is being made.
Effective academic oversight creates a cycle of review, action, and follow-up. Boards should expect school leaders to present evidence, explain the response, and return with measurable progress.
Academic Accountability Starts With Better Questions
Charter school boards must understand academic performance without stepping into the role of school administration. The right questions create a productive distinction. School leaders lead instruction. Boards provide oversight.
The LaVoulle Group helps charter school leaders and boards strengthen academic accountability, instructional leadership, literacy outcomes, and systems for monitoring student achievement.
Contact the LaVoulle Group