Elaine Allensworth and Holly Hart
Education Week
Principals are often seen as the primary drivers of improvements in student achievement--and often held accountable for these improvements. But given the complex role expectations for principals, the question is, of all their responsibilities, what matters most for improving student achievement?
To explore this question, researchers from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research (UChicago Consortium) looked at data from hundreds of Chicago schools to learn how principals were most effective at achieving higher learning gains on standardized tests. Then, we visited 12 schools, interviewing principals and teachers, to see firsthand what principals in schools with improving learning gains were doing that principals in schools without improving learning gains were not.
To explore this question, researchers from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research (UChicago Consortium) looked at data from hundreds of Chicago schools to learn how principals were most effective at achieving higher learning gains on standardized tests. Then, we visited 12 schools, interviewing principals and teachers, to see firsthand what principals in schools with improving learning gains were doing that principals in schools without improving learning gains were not.