Caucasus - School Management in Armenia : Exploring Qualitative, Quantitative, and AI-based Approaches to Skills Measurement

Overview & Synopsis

Effective public sector management is essential for delivering quality services, driving reforms, and ensuring efficient use of public resources. Yet, governments often lack accurate, fair, and scalable tools to measure the management skills that underpin performance across roles—from school principals to tax officials. Traditional human assessments, while providing valuable insights, are prone to bias and inconsistency, limiting their ability to identify and develop talent effectively. This report explores a hybrid approach that combines expert evaluators with Large Language Models (LLMs) to improve the measurement of management practices in Armenian public institutions. Armenia is implementing far-reaching education reforms, including new recruitment and training strategies aimed at strengthening the role of school principals in leading the adoption of a competency-based curriculum. The report identifies three priority areas for capacity-building: supporting student and staff mental health, retaining high-performing teachers through merit-based incentives and mentorship, and strengthening data-driven planning and decision-making. Beyond assessment, LLMs can support personalized professional development by delivering stepwise, targeted feedback to principals, bridging the gap between identifying improvement areas and implementing behavioral change. For Armenia, integrating AI tools into principal recruitment, evaluation, and training processes can enhance consistency, efficiency, and developmental impact. Locally tailored AI models could act as digital mentors, track progress, and provide context-specific guidance aligned with national education priorities. By modernizing how management skills are measured and developed, governments can make better decisions about hiring, promotion, and professional development, ultimately improving leadership quality and public service outcomes.