The Comprehensive Assessment of Leadership for Learning (CALL) was developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to provide schools with a comprehensive, research-based approach to understanding leadership practices that support teaching and student learning.
Developed with funding from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education, CALL was designed to address an important challenge in school improvement: How can schools collect meaningful information about leadership practices and use that information to guide improvement?
Unlike traditional leadership assessments that focus primarily on the characteristics or effectiveness of individual administrators, CALL examines the work of leadership throughout the school.
CALL emerged from research on effective school leadership, organizational practices, and the conditions that support teaching and learning. Its development involved researchers, educators, and school improvement practitioners working to identify the practices most relevant to school effectiveness.
The original CALL assessment was validated through research involving more than 200 schools across the United States.
This research foundation shaped CALL's approach to assessment and feedback, emphasizing three defining characteristics:
Practice-Based Assessment
CALL focuses on what educators actually do. Its questions examine the routines, processes, programs, and practices that shape teaching and learning, rather than relying primarily on general perceptions of leadership effectiveness.
Distributed Leadership
Effective school leadership extends beyond the principal's office. CALL examines leadership practices across the school, recognizing that teachers, instructional coaches, administrators, and other educators all contribute to creating the conditions for student learning.
Actionable Feedback
CALL was designed as a formative assessment, providing detailed information that school teams can use to identify strengths, examine improvement needs, and establish priorities for action.
CALL organizes school-wide leadership practices into five interconnected domains:
Focus on School-Wide Leadership for Learning: Establishing shared priorities, expectations, and practices that keep student learning at the center of school improvement.
Focus on Teaching and Learning: Supporting high-quality instruction through curriculum, assessment, feedback, and instructional improvement.
Building Professional Learning Communities: Creating structures and opportunities for educator collaboration, professional learning, and shared leadership.
Strategic Human Resource Management: Aligning staffing, expertise, time, and resources with school improvement priorities and student learning needs.
Ensuring an Effective Learning Environment: Establishing safe, supportive, and inclusive conditions that promote student engagement, well-being, and learning.
Together, these domains provide a comprehensive framework for examining the organizational practices that influence a school's capacity to improve.
A central principle behind CALL is that school improvement requires more than identifying problems. Educators need meaningful information about the practices they can strengthen.
CALL translates research on effective leadership into questions about observable school-wide practices. The assessment encourages educators to reflect on their own work and consider how practices operate throughout the school.
The resulting feedback helps school teams move from general impressions to more focused conversations about what is happening, where improvement is needed, and what actions may make a difference.
The goal is not simply to assess leadership. It is to use evidence about leadership practices to strengthen teaching and create better opportunities for student learning.
CALL's research foundation includes work on the design and validation of the assessment, distributed leadership, and the relationship between school leadership practices and instructional improvement.