Virginia Teacher Performance Standards
Virginia's teacher evaluation framework organized around eight performance standards. The framework provides a complete structure for evaluating teacher effectiveness, with each standard describing the skills and knowledge expected of all Virginia teachers.
The Virginia Standards is organized into 8 domains, 8 criteria, and a 4-level rating scale.
Used statewide across Virginia school divisions.
Domains and Criteria
The Virginia Standards domains and criteria
Performance Standard 1
The teacher demonstrates an understanding of the curriculum, subject content, and the developmental needs of students by providing relevant learning experiences.
- Professional Knowledge
Performance Standard 2
The teacher plans using the Virginia Standards of Learning, the school's curriculum, student data, and engaging and research-based strategies and resources to meet the needs of all students.
- Instructional Planning
Performance Standard 3
The teacher uses a variety of research-based instructional strategies appropriate for the content area to engage students in active learning, to promote key skills, and to meet individual learning needs.
- Instructional Delivery
Performance Standard 4
The teacher systematically gathers, analyzes, and uses all relevant data to measure student progress, guide instructional content and delivery methods, and provide timely feedback to students, parents/caregivers, and other educators, as needed.
- Assessment of/for Student Learning
Performance Standard 5
The teacher uses resources, routines, and procedures to provide a respectful, positive, safe, student-centered environment that is conducive to learning.
- Learning Environment
Performance Standard 6
The teacher demonstrates a commitment to equity and provides instruction and classroom strategies that result in culturally inclusive and responsive learning environments and academic achievement for all students.
- Culturally Responsive Teaching and Equitable Practices
Performance Standard 7
The teacher demonstrates a commitment to professional ethics, collaborates and communicates appropriately, and takes responsibility for personal professional growth that results in the enhancement of student learning.
- Professionalism
Performance Standard 8
The work of the teacher results in acceptable, measurable, and appropriate student academic progress.
- Student Academic Progress
Rating Levels
Virginia Standards rating levels
Highly Effective
The teacher performing at this level maintains performance, accomplishments, and behaviors that consistently and considerably surpass the established performance standard. This rating is reserved for performance that is truly exemplary and done in a manner that exemplifies the school's mission and goals.
Effective
The teacher consistently meets the performance standard in a manner that is aligned with the school's mission and goals.
Approaching Effective
The teacher's performance is inconsistent in meeting the established performance standard and/or working toward the school's mission and goals. The teacher may be starting to exhibit the desirable traits related to the standard but has not yet reached the full level of proficiency expected (i.e., developing) or the teacher's performance is lacking in a particular area (i.e., needs improvement).
Ineffective
The teacher consistently performs below the established performance standard or in a manner that is inconsistent with the school's mission and goals.
Source
Official Virginia Standards source
Source: Virginia Board of Education / Virginia Department of Education, Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers -- Interim Guidelines (March 18, 2021). Verified 2026-06-01. View the official rubric
Rubric facts verified 2026-06-01 against the official source.
Giving feedback on the Virginia Standards
The slow part is the write-up
Aligning observation evidence to every Virginia Standards domain and standard by hand, for every teacher and every visit, is what eats a principal's week. Observation Copilot does that mapping for you.
How Observation Copilot Helps
AI-powered Virginia Standards feedback in seconds
Paste your observation notes. Copilot maps your evidence to the right Virginia Standards domains and drafts structured, rubric-aligned feedback - ready to review and share. Walkthrough notes return a focused single-indicator debrief; full lesson observations return a multi-domain rubric-aligned report.
- Organizes observation notes by the eight Virginia performance standards
- Generates evidence-based feedback aligned to the Virginia evaluation rubric
- Suggests ratings across the four performance levels based on observed evidence
- Creates targeted next steps tied to specific Virginia standards
- Reduces post-observation write-up time for Virginia principals
Frequently Asked Questions
Virginia Standards FAQ
- What is the TPES?
- Virginia's statewide teacher performance evaluation framework, establishing eight uniform performance standards used by school divisions across the Commonwealth to observe, rate, and support teacher effectiveness on a four-level scale.
- What are the domains of the TPES?
- The TPES is organized into 8 domains: Performance Standard 1, Performance Standard 2, Performance Standard 3, Performance Standard 4, Performance Standard 5, Performance Standard 6, Performance Standard 7, and Performance Standard 8.
- How is the TPES scored?
- Performance is rated on a 4-level scale: Highly Effective, Effective, Approaching Effective, and Ineffective.
- What does TPES stand for?
- TPES stands for Teacher Performance Evaluation System, the framework of eight uniform performance standards Virginia divisions use under the state's Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers.
- Which version of the Virginia teacher standards is current?
- The current standards come from the Guidelines for Uniform Performance Standards and Evaluation Criteria for Teachers (March 2021), adopted by the Virginia Board of Education and verified against the official source on June 1, 2026.
Used In
States Using Virginia Standards
Related Reading
Virginia Standards Resources for Principals
50 Teacher Observation Feedback Examples (Organized by Framework Domain)
50 specific teacher observation feedback examples organized by framework domain, each tied to evidence and a next step principals can use.
Read more
FFT, T-TESS, Marzano, or Your Own: How Observation Copilot Aligns to Any Framework
Whether you use Danielson FFT, T-TESS, Marzano, or a custom rubric, Observation Copilot aligns feedback to your framework.
Read more
Walkthroughs vs. Formal Observations: When Each One Helps and When It Hurts
Walkthroughs and formal observations serve different purposes. Here's how principals balance both in a coaching cycle that actually grows teachers.
Read more
Writing Better Observation Notes: Tips for Getting the Most Out of AI-Powered Feedback
AI-generated feedback is only as good as your observation notes. Practical tips for writing notes that produce better, more specific results.
Read more
The Post-Observation Conversation: How to Make the 15 Minutes After Feedback Count
Delivering feedback is only half the job. Here's how to structure the post-observation conversation so teachers grow from it.
Read more
Ready to streamline your Virginia Standards observations?
Start generating framework-aligned feedback in seconds.