This report introduces the topic of assessment centers, an increasingly common personnel selection and development tool. A description of assessment center usefulness and their role in the selection of Austin Independent School District assistant principals and principals is also provided.

This study seeks to develop and validate an Assessment Centre (AC) tool for the evaluation and selection of school leaders, focusing on the identification of competencies that influence teaching and learning outcomes. International research supports the creation of Assessment Centres to select candidates for these roles, due to their superior…

Until recently, there were few attempts to apply the assessment-center concept to education in the United Kingdom. The University of East London's center is one successful example. This paper discusses assessment and development centers' effectiveness in selecting the headteacher most appropriate for a particular school and identifying these…

Examines criteria and procedures for selecting new (Ohio) elementary school principals during 1992-93. A survey of 50 superintendents indicates that selection criteria comprised academic criteria, personal characteristics, and professional competencies. Respondents rated attitude toward others and strong human relations skills as most important…

To help beginning principals create unique professional development plans, Texas A & M University Principals' Center has developed the Management Profile built around a videotaped interview of open-ended questions. Trained assessors review the video, compare responses with a standards matrix, and encourage principals to choose a mentor/coach…

New principals are often ill-prepared to assume the increasingly complex responsibilities of the principalship. An assessment process could eliminate some of the frustration experienced by prospective principals who discover they do not enjoy the duties and responsibilities of school administration. Mentoring and coaching can help beginning…

The significant effort made to clarify and measure educational leadership essentials has spawned the assessment center concept. This article examines leadership, describes the development of assessment centers in general, and focuses on the National Association of Secondary School Principals' Principal Assessment Center Project to identify and…

As part of the 1987-88 Westchester Principals' Center program evaluation, active principals were asked what motivates their participation in professional development activities. This article summarizes their answers, along with perceived participation benefits, visions of the principalship, and the influence of prior experiences on learning…

Recent research illustrates the increasingly important role of the school principal. As a result, procedures for selecting principals have also become more critical to rural school districts. School systems, particularly rural school districts, are encouraged to adopt systematic, rational means for selecting administrators. Such procedures will…

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Assessment Center Project expects to have 53 comprehensive centers in operation by June 1986. Behavior modeling is the training strategy for professional development, and research has confirmed that the process can help predict who will be a successful administrator. (MLF)

According to one study, hiring officials wishing to know administrator candidates' job skills cannot learn about them from administering the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and cannot learn much about personality preferences from NASSP Assessment Center data. Hiring officials should use multiple information sources, select appropriate measurement…

At best, competency testing should be used as just one indicator of an individual's proficiency as a school administrator. Evaluation alternatives include the use of assessment centers, on-the-job training and/or assessment, alternative forms of testing, multiple competency indicators, better recruitment strategies, and enhanced school…

In November 1996, the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) approved the revision of the Administrative Diagnostic Inventory (ADI), the diagnostic procedure conducted in their assessment center. To assist the NAESP in the use of the ADI for the assessment of current and prospective school principals, the construct validity…

Research shows that most school districts lack established policies for selecting teachers or administrators. This article, based on a study of concurrent validity between performance on the Administrator Perceiver Interview and in the NASSP Assessment Center, shows that the two approaches provide different information concerning prospective…

To help Florida schools select principals most likely to contribute to school improvement, Development Dimensions International conducts three-day workshops featuring the Targeted Selection Interview process. Using past behavior to predict future performance, interviewers systematize selection elements, identify job dimensions, employ effective…