Traditional annual or bi-annual reviews are the most familiar model: clear documentation, simple tracking, and a good fit for formal contract renewals and compliance audits. Their downside is that they invite rater bias and don’t do much for ongoing engagement between cycles.

360-degree reviews pull in perspective from co-teachers, families, and others the employee works with. That multi-angle view is valuable for lead teachers, mentors, and supervisors, but it takes real time to run and carries some risk of friction between peers.

Objective-based or key-results reviews anchor the conversation in specific, measurable targets set in advance — useful when you want the review to track concrete outcomes rather than general impressions.

Continuous coaching trades the single annual event for real-time feedback and rapid course-correction. It asks more of an administrator’s time, but tends to produce the fastest skill growth and strongest retention — especially for new educators and centers working toward higher Maryland EXCELS tiers.