Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year the North Carolina State Board of Education (SBE) mandated the use of the North Carolina Teacher Evaluation Process (Evaluation Process) for use in all public school systems in the state to conduct teacher observations and evaluations. The Evaluation Process replaced the Teacher Performance Appraisal Instrument-Revised (TPAI-R) as the instrument used to conduct observations and evaluations of the teachers in the state. The change from the use of the TPAI-R to the Evaluation Process represented a dramatic shift in not only the instrument used to evaluate teachers but also in the basic philosophy that guides the expectations for teacher performance. The purpose of this study was to ascertain how principals' observational and/or evaluative practices have changed, if at all, under the process as compared to how they performed this task under the TPAI-R. As an additional data point, teachers' thoughts, feelings and opinions on principals' evaluative practices as a result of this transition were included in the study. In this study three school level administrators in a rural county in North Carolina were interviewed to determine how their observational practices have changed as a result of the transition to the Evaluation Process. In addition, data was obtained from the interview of a focus group of teachers. In an examination of the data three themes emerged from the principal data and one overriding theme from the teacher focus group in regards to observational practices. The three themes from the principal data were the amount of time needed to complete an observation or evaluation, the Evaluation Process effects how teachers are expected to teach, and the use of the Evaluation Process and its effect of principals' evaluative practices. The examination of the teacher focus group data supports the three themes identified from the principal data. The overriding theme from the teacher focus group data was the degree to which varying administrators differ in their interpretation of the teacher's performance when viewing the same or similar activities, also known as inter-rater agreement. In the case of the three rural principals interviewed for this study, the study shows that their observational practices have changed. In comparison to the TPAI-R, all of the principals felt that the Evaluation Process helped them to be able to help teachers improve their instructional practices. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]