It took three years for new DCPS principals to achieve measurable achievement gains, with no evidence of even temporary declines¶
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? Measurable achievement gains under new principals emerged only after three years, and there was no evidence of even temporary declines in achievement following the leadership changes. → 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
Key findings from the DCPS principal-replacement analysis covering principal changes at the end of school years 2007-2008 through 2010-2011. The brief reports the three-year timeline and states there was "no evidence of even temporary declines"; no effect size is printed for this finding.
"It took three years for new principals to achieve measurable achievement gains. Although the gains took time, there was no evidence of even temporary declines in achievement following the changes in school leadership."
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 — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
- 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
- Achievement gains under new principals were larger and happened faster in DCPS middle schools than in elementary schools — related
- The 2007 DC reforms aimed to improve student achievement by hiring and retaining higher quality teachers and providing families more public school choices — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
dcps-principal-gains-took-three-years-no-declines |
title |
It took three years for new DCPS principals to achieve measurable achievement gains, with no evidence of even temporary declines |
description |
It took three years for new DCPS principals to achieve measurable achievement gains, with no evidence of even temporary declines |
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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