The Evidence
Building on over 25 years of PSA’s research, evaluation, and technical assistance on leadership and the role of districts in school improvement:
Research and Evaluation:
Six Districts Begin the Principal Pipeline Initiative (V1)
Cultivating Talent Through a Principal Pipeline (V2)
Districts Taking Charge of the Principal Pipeline (V3)
Evaluating and Supporting Principals (V4)
The Principal Pipeline Initiative in Action (V5)
Leader Tracking Systems: Turning Data into Information for School Leadership
Sustaining a Principal Pipeline
EDC’s Quality Measures in Texas
University of Maryland School Improvement Leadership Academy
East Carolina University Project 14
All the Voices: Statewide Collaborations for School Leadership under ESSA
Leading Low-Performing Schools: Lessons from the Turnaround School Leaders Program
East Carolina University edPIRATE Teacher Residency and Leader Training
Redesigning Principal Preparation: A Case Study of the ASU Educational Leadership Tier II Program
Study of Baltimore City Public Schools Transformation Schools
Study of Chronically Low-performing Schools
Study of District Comprehensive School Reform
Evaluation of General Electric Foundation’s Developing Futures in Education
Technical Assistance and Training:
Delaware Department of Education Principal and Principal Supervisor Workshops
Maryland Principal/Aspiring Principal Academy
Maryland New Superintendent’s Academy
Leader Pipeline Self-Study and Implementation in Talbot County School District, MD
Principal Leadership Academy, Calvert County Public Schools, MD
Principal Supervisor Training and Support in Wichita Public Schools, KS
Principal Supervisor Training and Support in Christina School District, DE
Assisted in the design of the Principal Academy for the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education (DC OSSE) (support the design and delivery)
Assist the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in designing the professional learning program for assistant principals
Supporting the California Department of Education in developing its professional learning program for school leaders
Wisconsin Local School Board’s trainings on strategies for closing the black/white achievement gap
Supported by foundations and the federal government.
Impact: Pipelines improve schools and school leaders
Schools in pipeline districts outperform schools in comparison districts in both reading and math (RAND, 2019).
Schools in pipeline districts had lower principal turnover after three years. This is significant because principal turnover is disruptive to schools and is costly (RAND, 2019).
Impact: Effective school leaders strengthen teachers and students
Teachers
— Increased job satisfaction/improved working conditions (Leithwood & Jantzi, 2005; Grissom, 2011; Burkhauser, 2017)
— Increased retention (Boyd et al., 2011; Jacob et al., 2015)
— Improved classroom practice (Garet et al., 2017; Grissom, Loeb, & Master, 2013)
Students
— Increased attendance (Bartanen, 2020)
— Improved academic performance (Leithwood & Jantzi, 2005; Nunnery et al., 2011; Gates et al., 2019; Grissom et al., 2021)
“The impact of replacing a below-average elementary school principal (i.e., one at the 25th percentile of effectiveness with an above-average principal (i.e., at the 75th percentile) would result in an additional 2.9 months of math learning and 2.7 months of reading learning each year for students in that school” (Grissom et al., 2021).
Plus any links to published research
Plus links to Wallace Foundation research site and/or specific reports