Does Regulating Entry Requirements Lead to More Effective Principals?
55 Pages Posted: 4 Jul 2024
Abstract
Anecdotal evidence points to the importance of school principals, but the limited existing research has neither provided consistent results nor indicated any set of essential characteristics of effective principals. This paper, combining six state-specific research teams, executes common analytical protocols that exploit the extensive student-level, panel data across six states to investigate both variations in principal performance and the relationship between effectiveness and key certification factors. While principal effectiveness varies widely across states, there is little indication that regulation of the background and training of principals yields consistently effective performance. Having prior teaching or management experience is not related to our estimates of principal value-added, suggesting that common entry requirements raise the opportunity cost of becoming a principal without being systematically related to achievement growth.
Keywords: Leadership, Principals, School/Teacher Effectiveness, Certification/Licensure, Longitudinal Studies
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