Two decades of research have documented what now is common knowledge: no in-school factor matters more to students' educational experiences and outcomes than the effectiveness of their teacher. As a result, the national airspace is increasingly crowded with proposed reforms and initiatives designed to boost teacher performance, including new…

The link among the quality of principals, caliber of teaching, and levels of student achievement is a tight one. School leadership is a key factor in the recruitment and retention of quality teachers; teaching quality, in turn, profoundly influences improvements in student learning and achievement. Yet despite their central role in this equation,…

This paper describes the process of principal licensure reform in Iowa. Upon adoption of the ISLLC standards, the state department of education required revision of all principal preparation programs to conform to state code and guidelines developed by an external review panel. This paper analyzes the review process and compares five programs that…