Investigating the Relationship Between Turnaround Principal Competencies and Student Achievement

Abstract

Building upon the prior development of a model of turnaround principal competencies, we investigated the extent to which the identified principal competencies correlate with student achievement. Participants met rigorous selection criteria for having effectively turned around their schools during their first 2 years as principal. We conducted correlational analyses to examine the strength of relationship between each of the seven competencies and found that the model appears to reflect the internal states of principals who orchestrate school turnaround. We suggest that this initial effort should be further refined as additional data sources become available, but note that this model, given the popularity of principal competencies in districts, can inform current policies and practices.