This study examines the experience of demotion from a principalship to an assistant principalship and how race and gender can differentially impact career trajectories. Using administrative state dataset of 10,946 observations at the principal level, we used probit regression to determine the overall probability of demotion and Kaplan Meier…

This mixed methods research study explores superintendents' beliefs about and engagement in state education policymaking processes. Through interviews with 58 superintendents and a national survey of superintendents, I find that many superintendents feel that their voices have value in state policymaking spaces; however, superintendents' actual…

Amid heightened concerns of teacher shortages, we document the role of principals in shaping teachers' labor market decisions. Using teacher transfer applications from a large urban school district, we find that teachers are most likely to seek transfer away from schools with less-experienced principals and weaker leadership. The qualities of…

This mixed-methods study synthesizes Standards-Based Grading (SBG) literature, analyzes 249 Arkansas administrators' survey responses using OLS regressions, and identifies themes through in-vivo coding of qualitative feedback. Results show more SBG support among liberal, elementary-level administrators in larger, economically diverse districts.…

Improving school quality in low and middle income countries (LMICs) is a global priority. One way to improve quality may be to improve the management skills of school leaders. In this systematic review, we analyze the impact of interventions targeting school leaders' management practices on student learning. We begin by describing the…

This study investigates whether a principal's likelihood of hiring a teacher of color is sensitive to the racial composition of students in the school. We used an administrative dataset from Texas including 59,157 principal observations and 662,997 teacher observations spanning 2000 to 2017 in order to consider whether or not the disappearing…

Organizational crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, influence the appointment of leaders from underrepresented groups, including women and people of color. This study examines the relationship between the pandemic, school organizational characteristics, and the appointment of women and people of color to school leadership (e.g., Head of School,…

Disparate turnover among teachers of color remains a persistent educational challenge, yet little research explores the link between school leadership, peer teaching staff, and turnover disparities. This study explores whether principal and peer teacher demographics predict teacher turnover in New York City, and whether they do so differently for…

This study investigates the influence of principal tenure on the retention rates of the teachers they hire over time. We analyzed the hiring practices and teacher retention rates of 11,717 Texas principals from 1999 to 2017 employing both individual and year fixed effects. Main findings indicate that a principal who stays in the same school for at…

High rates of principal turnover nationally mean that school districts constantly are called on to recruit and select new principals. The importance of a school's principal makes choosing candidates who will be effective paramount, yet we have little evidence linking information known to school districts at time of selection to principal's future…

Exploiting variation from principal and teacher transitions over long administrative data panels in Missouri and Tennessee, we estimate the effects of principal race on the hiring and turnover of racially diverse teachers. Evidence from the two states is strikingly similar. Black principals increase the probability that a newly hired teacher is…

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 exploits extensive student-level panel data across six states to investigate both variations in principal performance and…

State laws and charter authorizing standards have not kept up with the explosive growth of charter schools in the last two decades. Annenberg Institute for School Reform's (AISR's) 2014 report "Public Accountability for Charter Schools: Standards and Policy Recommendations for Effective Oversight," offers seven standards, each with a set…

In 2009, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) was on the brink of state takeover, with low academic performance, significant achievement gaps, and a number of schools failing to meet performance targets under No Child Left Behind. Additionally, over the past decade, significant demographic shifts in Nashville have resulted in MNPS becoming…

Pioneering research on effective schools more than thirty-five years ago revealed that school leadership is second only to teachers in its impact on student achievement. Underscoring this research, a new study from Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) found that building school administrators' leadership capacity has played a critical role…