Achievement gains under new principals were larger and happened faster in DCPS middle schools than in elementary schools¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causalr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2014 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2017: local conditions change quickly
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? Achievement gains in both math and reading were larger and happened faster in middle schools than in elementary schools, with middle school students gaining 9 percentile points in math and 8 in reading. → Elias Walsh 2014
Evidence¶
Elias Walsh 2014¶
Elias Walsh, Dallas Dotter. (2014). The Impact of Replacing Principals on Student Achievement in DC Public Schools (In Focus Brief). Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/in-focus-brief-the-impact-of-replacing-principals-on-student-achievement-in-dc-public-schools
q2 · i? · causal · r2
School-level subgroup contrast from the DCPS principal-replacement analysis. The brief reports middle-school gains of "9 percentile points in math and by 8 percentile points in reading," larger and faster than elementary-school gains; no standard deviations or effect sizes are printed for these subgroup effects.
"Achievement gains in both math and reading were larger and happened faster in middle schools than in elementary schools. New principals improved the average middle school student's achievement by 9 percentile points in math and by 8 percentile points in reading."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- In the 2008-2009 school year, 39 percent of DCPS principals (51 individuals) did not return, as part of Chancellor Rhee's replacement reforms following mayoral control — related
- For DCPS students in grades 6 to 8, achievement gains under new principals were larger and statistically significant in both math and reading — related
- New principals' math achievement gains followed a similar trend to reading but were smaller — related
- After three years with a new principal, the average DCPS student's reading achievement increased by 4 percentile points (0.09 standard deviations) relative to retained-principal comparison schools — related
- It took three years for new DCPS principals to achieve measurable achievement gains, with no evidence of even temporary declines — related
- DC math impacts of about one-third of a standard deviation are similar in magnitude to New Orleans reforms and larger than some well-known interventions — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
dcps-principal-gains-larger-faster-middle-schools |
title |
Achievement gains under new principals were larger and happened faster in DCPS middle schools than in elementary schools |
description |
Achievement gains under new principals were larger and happened faster in DCPS middle schools than in elementary schools |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2014 |
recheck_by |
2017 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-08 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — elias-walsh-2014 |
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