School districts have typically not done a good job of managing the human side of teacher evaluation. In general, neither supervisors nor teachers find performance assessment a constructive, interpersonally respectful experience. District leaders can cultivate high-quality teaching--and attend to the human side of assessment--by taking five crucial steps. They should (1) include teachers in designing the performance evaluation system; (2) protect opportunities to learn and grow; (3) ensure that principals and coaches are skilled at observing and consulting with teachers; (4) ensure that principals' workloads have sufficient time built in for teacher evaluation; and (5) make instructional improvement a clear district priority.