Middle grades principals have lasting effects on students' high school outcomes and young-adult life outcomes, beyond contemporaneous achievement effects¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Middle grades principals in CPS had lasting impacts on students' outcomes into young adulthood, including ninth-grade course performance, absences, disciplinary infractions, and college enrollment and persistence. → Rivkin 2023

Evidence¶

Rivkin 2023¶

Rivkin, S.G., Sartain, L., & Schiman, J.C. (2023). Training and retaining effective school leaders: Results from efforts to improve principal effectiveness in Chicago Public Schools. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/training-retaining-effective-school-leaders

q2 · i? · associational · r3

Observational analysis of CPS administrative data 1994–2018 estimating principal effects with multiple isolation methods. The authors report that "middle grade principals had lasting impacts on their students’ outcomes into young adulthood" alongside strong contemporaneous achievement and climate effects. No effect size is printed in the brief.

"middle grade principals had lasting impacts on their students’ outcomes into young adulthood (e.g., college going, employment), as well as a strong influence on contemporaneous student achievement and school climate"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Principals' instructional leadership practices are linked to improved student outcomes, largely through their support for teachers — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• NLCI high school outcomes were lower than those of similar students at other CPS schools for most years of the initiative — related
• CPS four-year high school graduation rose from 57 percent in 2006 to 75 percent in 2017, with options-school graduates adding 4 more percentage points — related
• Freshman OnTrack rates improved most among the highest-risk students, including Black and Latinx young men and the lowest-achieving entrants — related
• KIPP's rapid growth over two decades created an enormous need for strong principals to lead its schools — related
• Principal turnover is associated with lower student achievement, worse climate, and higher teacher attrition, with effects lasting up to 5 years — related