Principals and other school
leaders
The evidence base for their critical role in ESSA
– with state examples
Educational briefing for the US Department of Education
The Wallace Foundation
June 26, 2017
Agenda for today’s discussion
 Brief background on The Wallace Foundation
 Evidence on education leadership
 A view from the field: What states are doing
 Implications for ESSA
 Discussion
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About The Wallace Foundation
 The mission of The Wallace
Foundation is to foster
 improvements in learning
and enrichment for
disadvantaged children and
 the vitality of the arts for
everyone.
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Our commitment to evidence:
‘We say more only as we know more’
 We act at all times in ways that reflect our commitment to sharing only reliable,
credible information and evidence with policymakers, practitioners and others.
 We seek to ensure that we are always viewed as a nonpartisan “honest broker” of
useful lessons and evidence.
 We recommend options for specific policies and practices only when we have
experience and evidence of their effectiveness, seeking to avoid causing harm or
creating negative unintended consequences.
 We embrace the full range of evidence, actively seeking out counter indicators of the
soundness of our policy strategies, and acknowledging contrary evidence in our
policy analysis.
 We always offer a set of evidence-based policy options, not a single prescription,
because we recognize that evidence rarely suggests a single policy solution and that
policy is most effective when adapted to local circumstances.
 We comply fully at all times with the laws governing private foundation activities in
the public policy realm.
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A range of knowledge products
Category
What function they serve
Implementation studies
Draw operational lessons based on field experience –
including barriers and enablers.
Evidence reviews and
literature reviews
Summarize what’s known in a field, often referencing
findings in related fields whose relevance may have been
overlooked.
Effects studies
Assess outcomes; typically on topics that have received
less attention, such as support for new principals.
Cost studies
Provide evidence on the cost of an innovative approach,
identifying factors that drive costs.
Wallace Perspectives
Offer Wallace’s own view of the synthesis of the evidence
and the experience of grantees.
Practitioner tools
Help organizations apply research findings.
Journalistic accounts and
Report on field experiences based on interviews. Less
video interviews of leaders formal than other studies.
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Our quality assurance process
 Competitive process for selecting research partners. Recent partners have
included:
 RAND
 Policy Studies Associates
 University of Washington
 University of Chicago
 University of Texas, Austin
 Quality review by Wallace experts in research, program and
communications (and outside reviewers, as needed). Products assessed for:
 Objectivity
 Credibility
 Accuracy
 Organization
 Clarity
 Publication on Wallace website only if a product meets those standards.
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Broad use of knowledge products
 All are posted on
wallacefoundation.org
– total downloads
exceed 700,000 per
year
 Aimed mainly at
practitioners and
policymakers and
their influencers
 Since 2007, a total of
5,500 citations of
research by scholars
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Selected national partners working with
Wallace on school leadership
 Council of Chief State School
Officers
 National Governors Association
 National Council of State
Legislatures
 American Association of Colleges
of Teacher Education
 University Council for Educational
Administration
 George W. Bush Institute
 Council of the Great City Schools
 National Urban League
 American Association of School
 American Institutes for Research
Administrators
 National Association of
Elementary School Principals
 National Association of
Secondary School Principals
 RAND
 Policy Studies Associates
 University of Washington, Center
for Educational Leadership
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New CCSSO online guide for states on
using ESSA to elevate school leadership
 A new RAND report that details funding opportunities and the
evidence behind school leadership activities
 An assessment to determine how school leadership currently fits into
your state’s education agenda
 A comprehensive bibliography of publications on school leadership
topics
 Tools to craft plans and engage stakeholders
 A guide on how to prioritize school leadership in your state’s ESSA
plan
Find this resource and others at:
www.ccsso.org/ESSAElevatingSchoolLeaders
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Wide array of research on
education leadership
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Agenda for today’s discussion
 Brief background on The Wallace Foundation
 Evidence on education leadership
 A view from the field: What states are doing
 Implications for ESSA
 Discussion
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30+ studies on school leadership meet
ESSA evidence requirements
 18 meet Tiers I through III evidence
requirements
 Key conclusions:
 “School leadership can be a powerful
driver of improved education
outcomes.”
 “Activities designed to improve school
leadership demonstrate positive impact
on student, teacher, and principal
outcomes….”
Source: School Leadership Interventions Under the Every Student
Succeeds Act Evidence Review, Rebecca Herman, et al, RAND, 2016
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Principals are key to student learning
 Principals are “second only to classroom
instruction among all school-related factors
that contribute to what students learn at
school.”
-- How Leadership Influences Student Learning, Kenneth Leithwood, et
al, University of Minnesota, University of Toronto, 2004
• “Principals are multipliers of effective
teaching.”
-- Developing Excellent School Principals to Advance Teaching and
Learning: Considerations for State Policy, Paul Manna, The Wallace
Foundation, 2015
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In all sectors
 Reform occurs in multiple sectors:
 Public
 Private
 Charter, e.g. KIPP
 Leaders play the same role regardless of the
sector, they:
 Shape a vision of academic success for all




students
Create a climate hospitable to education
Cultivate leadership in others
Improve instruction
Manage people, data and processes to foster
school improvement
Source: The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning,
The Wallace Foundation, 2013
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Principals are key to
retaining good teachers
“Teacher turnover is lower in schools led by high-quality
principals…. Research further indicates that principal
turnover leads to lower teacher retention and lower gains
for students.”
-- School
Leadership Interventions Under the
Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence Review,
Rebecca Herman, et al, RAND, 2016
“Principal effectiveness is associated with greater teacher
satisfaction and a lower probability that the teacher leaves
the school within a year. Moreover, the positive impacts of
principal effectiveness on these teacher outcomes are even
greater in disadvantaged schools.”
-- Can
Good Principals Keep Teachers in Disadvantaged Schools? Linking Principal
Effectiveness to Teacher Satisfaction and Turnover in Hard-to-Staff Environments,
Jason A. Grissom, Teachers College Record, 2011
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Principals are critical
to improving struggling schools
 “…there are virtually no documented
instances of troubled schools being turned
around without intervention by a powerful
leader. Many other factors may contribute to
such turnarounds, but leadership is the
catalyst.”
 “There seems little doubt that both district
and school leadership provides a critical
bridge between most educational-reform
initiatives, and having those reforms make a
genuine difference for all students.”
-- How Leadership Influences Student Learning,
Kenneth Leithwood, et al,
University of Minnesota, University of Toronto, 2004
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Leadership is important to state
school improvement efforts
 “Especially during the last five to ten years,
states have pushed forward ambitious
education initiatives that will be unlikely to
succeed without principals actively leading
the work on the ground.”
-- Developing Excellent School Principals to Advance Teaching and
Learning, Paul Manna, 2015
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‘Certified’ is not necessarily ‘qualified’
 Graduates of effective programs
are:
 Better-prepared
 Perform better in high-needs
schools
 Twice as likely to actually become
principals
 60 percent vs. 20-30 percent
Source: Preparing School Leaders for a Changing World,
Linda Darling-Hammond, et al, Stanford University, 2007
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Characteristics of effective leader
training programs
 Selective admissions
 Focus on change leadership and instruction
 Partnership with districts that hire
graduates
 “Pre-service” extends to the early years on
the job (mentoring is especially important)
 States can make better use of their
authority. Align with licensure.
Source: The Making of the Principal: Five Lessons in Leadership
Training, The Wallace Foundation, 2012
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Principal pipelines benefit
both districts and new principals
 The benefits for both districts and new
principals are substantial
 Leader standards are important
 Leader evaluation systems seen as ‘fair’
 Mentors and principal supervisors most
valued supports among novice principals
 Districts can do it
Source: The Principal Pipeline Initiative in Action, Building a Stronger Principalship Vol
5, Brenda Turnbull, et al, Policy Studies Associates, 2016
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Standards are an important
foundation for principal pipelines
 “The standards brought coherence to
district actions and provided a
common language for discussing
school leadership.”
 “Districts actively used standards to
help align their principal preparation
programs, hiring criteria, and on the
job evaluation rubrics with district
priorities for school leadership.”
Source: The Principal Pipeline in Action, Building a Stronger Principalship Vol 5, Policy Studies Associates,
2016; Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2015
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Principal pipelines are cost effective
Because of leaders’ influence on schools, “efforts to
improve their recruitment, training, evaluation and
ongoing development should be considered highly
cost-effective approaches to successful school
improvement.”
– How Leadership Influences Student Learning, Kenneth
Leithwood, et al, University of Minnesota, University of
Toronto, 2004
 New RAND study finds principal pipelines are
affordable
 Pipelines are 0.4% of annual district budgets,
according to study of six districts
 Minimal cost for two “quick wins” – leader
standards and selective hiring
 Coaching/Mentoring: Average cost $1,500 per
principal
-- Source: What it Takes to Operate and Maintain Principal
Pipelines, Julia H. Kaufman, et al, RAND, 2017
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Principal supervisors play an important
role in supporting principals
 Principals need support from principal
supervisors, including relevant evaluation,
in order to maximize their impact
 A focus on strengthening teaching and
learning is crucial
 Representative survey of principals nationwide finds
principals value their supervision and mentoring more
when it’s focused on instruction
 86% of principals in six urban districts who
were advised to improve received support
to do so from their supervisors
Source: Support for Instructional Leadership, RAND, 2016; and Evaluating and Supporting Principals,
Building a Stronger Principalship, Volume 4, Policy Studies Associates, 2016
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Practitioner tools help translate
evidence into practice
Source: Principal Supervisor 360 Tools, University of Washington, 2014; Principal Preparation
Program Self-Assessment Toolkit, Education Development Center, 2009 and 2013; Model
Principal Supervisor Standards, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2015.
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What’s next?
Wallace’s University Principal Preparation Initiative
Our goal is to learn how university principal preparation
programs—working in partnership with high-needs school
districts, exemplary preparation programs and the state—
improve their training so it reflects the evidence on how to
best prepare effective principals.
 7 universities in this initiative, with their state and districts
 Major evaluation by RAND is underway
 Evidence on the universities and the districts for which they
prepare principals
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Landscape surveys on principal
preparation
 Districts dissatisfied; universities also
want to improve
 Strong university-district partnerships
are important, but rare
 Course of study does not match on-thejob realities
 States have authority to improve
principal preparation, but are not using
it as effectively as they could.
Source: Improving University Principal Preparation Programs, The Wallace Foundation, 2016
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Wallace’s university principal
preparation initiative design
State policies
7 University
programs
6 partner
providers
Districts that
employ graduates
• Evaluation
• Technical assistance, professional learning community
• Conference to share lessons with non-grantees
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Agenda for today’s discussion
 Brief background on The Wallace Foundation
 Evidence on education leadership
 A view from the field: What states are doing
 Implications for ESSA
 Discussion
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34 states and D.C. working with Wallace
and/or CCSSO on school leadership strategies
Hawaii
Wallace/CCSSO
CCSSO
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Policy Studies Associates: Many states now
focused on improving school leadership
 May 2017 survey of 25 states; 55 respondents from CCSSO’s
Cross-State Action Groups
 Key conclusion: “Many states are working to improve school
leadership, some on a scale that is unprecedented.”
What has been helpful:
 Evidence
 Professional Standards for Educational Leaders
 Flexibility in ESSA
 Available support from organizations focused in school leadership
Source: State Efforts to Strengthen School Leadership, Policy Studies Associates, May 2017
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Most focusing on strengthening
support and PD for principals
after making little progress in the past
Source: State Efforts to Strengthen School Leadership, Policy Studies Associates, May 2017
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Similar findings for principal
supervisors and principal preparation
Source: State Efforts to Strengthen School Leadership, Policy Studies Associates, May 2017
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What the 25 states are working on
 Principal mentoring and coaching (77%)
 Professional development of novice principals (75%
 Professional development of veteran principals
(73%)
 Principal capacity to provide feedback and develop
teachers (71%)
 Developing principals of low-performing or hard-tostaff schools (69%)
Source: State Efforts to Strengthen School Leadership, Policy Studies Associates, May 2017
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Agenda for today’s discussion
 Brief background on The Wallace Foundation
 Evidence on education leadership
 A view from the field: What states are doing
 Implications for ESSA
 Discussion
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Main ESSA entry points for principals
and other school leaders
 Title I: School Improvement
 Title IIA: “Building Systems of Support for
Excellent Teaching and Leading”
 Principal supervisors, previously unclear as to
their eligibility for support, are explicitly
included in current Title II, Part A nonregulatory guidance
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Title II, Part A non-regulatory guidance
supports state flexibility
 Examples of categories of allowable expenditures mentioned:
 Principal Preparation Academies
 Clinical experiences (residencies)
 Developing standards, certification, licensure
 Induction and mentoring
 Leader evaluation systems
 Principal professional development
 Principal supervisors
 Principal pipeline
 Retaining leaders in high needs schools
 The guidance explicitly recognizes additional qualifying activities
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Title II, Part A non-regulatory guidance offers
examples of evidence-based strategies
 From Chaos to Coherence: A Policy Agenda for Assessing and
Using Outcomes in Educator Preparation – Deans for Impact
 Our Responsibility, Our promise: Transforming Educator
Preparation and Entry into the Profession - The Council of Chief
State School Officers
 How Leadership Influences Student Learning – Leithwood, et. al.
 Districts taking charge of the principal pipeline – Policy Studies
Associates
 Principles and standards and NACSA’s 12 essential practices – The
National Alliance of Charter School Authorizers
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How two states are using Title II flexibility and
evidence to improve school leadership
 Both states using 3% set-aside to implement strategies based on evidence
 Tennessee
 Under Commissioner Candice McQueen, Tennessee will fund the implementation
of the Tennessee Transformational Leadership Alliance’s plan to develop regional
partnerships between districts and universities to create pipelines of high-quality
principals
 Strong focus on leadership in school improvement strategies
 Missouri
 Under Commissioner Margaret Vandeven, Missouri will move toward training and
coaching for all principals in the state at scale.
 Next year will offer intensive training and support for principals in their first or
second years with other sessions for principals of three years and up.
 The state will coordinate all training with a larger system of workforce
development and will pay for all principal mentoring; whereas previously districts
assumed the cost.
Source: Tennessee Department of Education; Missouri Department of Elementary and
Secondary School Education
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Agenda for today’s discussion
 Brief background on The Wallace Foundation
 Evidence on education leadership
 A view from the field: What states are doing
 Implications for ESSA
 Discussion
39
These materials constitute non-partisan
analysis and research intended for
educational purposes only.
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For more information –
wallacefoundation.org
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