This paper reports on a study that investigated the appraisal of middle leaders in three New Zealand secondary schools in order to determine what constituted effective performance appraisal and how this practice could be improved from the perspective of this middle tier of leadership. Overall, appraisal was variably practised and seen as a compliance mechanism rather than an opportunity for conversations about achievement and development, when it occurred at all. It is concluded that what middle level leaders experience as performance appraisal may be devalued by senior leaders paying insufficient attention to the appraisal of middle leaders especially in relation to their management responsibilities. Development linked to the appraisal of both senior and middle leaders could strengthen appraisal practice, increase its value for all parties, and tap the unrealised potential that performance appraisal has for supporting middle leaders to improve student learning outcomes.