United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Go to Accessibility Information
Skip to Page Content




Human Resources Management Division

NRCS Performance Management Significant Changes

OLD (Pass/Fail) NEW (5 Levels)
Previous Policy, dated January 1, 1999 New Policy, effective October 1, 2005
  • 2 LEVELS (pass/fail)
  • 5 LEVELS (outstanding, superior, fully successful, marginal, unacceptable)
  • Form 4140 Performance Work Plan
  • Form AD-435 A/B
  • Only contains critical elements
  • Critical and non-critical elements
  • At least two, but no more than a total of five critical elements
  • 3 to 10 critical and non-critical elements. At least one critical and one non-critical
  • "Results Achieved" or "Results Not Achieved" is assigned to each element.
  • Each performance element is assigned one of the following: Exceeds Fully Successful; Meets Fully Successful; & Does Not Meet Fully Successful.
  • No documentation required on element rating
  • Documentation required for any element appraised at Does Not Meet Fully Successful or Exceeds Fully Successful.
  • Elements not weighted for Summary Rating
  • Critical Elements assigned two (2) appraisal units and non-critical elements are assigned one (1) appraisal unit.
  • Overall summary rating of "Results Achieved" and "Results Not Achieved"
  • 5 Summary Levels: outstanding, superior, fully successful, marginal unacceptable

Send comments on this page to Webmaster
Last updated: November 4, 2005

< Back to Performance Management