1. Principals and other school leaders The evidence base for their critical role in ESSA – with state examples Educational briefing for the US Department of Education The Wallace Foundation June 26, 2017

2. Agenda for today’s discussion
Brief background on The Wallace Foundation
Evidence on education leadership
A view from the field: What states are doing
Implications for ESSA
Discussion

3. About The Wallace Foundation
The mission of The Wallace Foundation is to foster
improvements in learning and enrichment for disadvantaged children and
the vitality of the arts for everyone.

4. Our commitment to evidence: ‘We say more only as we know more’
We act at all times in ways that reflect our commitment to sharing only reliable, credible information and evidence with policymakers, practitioners and others.
We seek to ensure that we are always viewed as a nonpartisan “honest broker” of useful lessons and evidence.
We recommend options for specific policies and practices only when we have experience and evidence of their effectiveness, seeking to avoid causing harm or creating negative unintended consequences.
We embrace the full range of evidence, actively seeking out counter indicators of the soundness of our policy strategies, and acknowledging contrary evidence in our policy analysis.
We always offer a set of evidence-based policy options, not a single prescription, because we recognize that evidence rarely suggests a single policy solution and that policy is most effective when adapted to local circumstances.
We comply fully at all times with the laws governing private foundation activities in the public policy realm.

5. A range of knowledge products
Category
What function they serve
Implementation studies
Draw operational lessons based on field experience – including barriers and enablers.
Evidence reviews and literature reviews
Summarize what’s known in a field, often referencing findings in related fields whose relevance may have been overlooked.
Effects studies
Assess outcomes; typically on topics that have received less attention, such as support for new principals.
Cost studies
Provide evidence on the cost of an innovative approach, identifying factors that drive costs.
Wallace Perspectives
Offer Wallace’s own view of the synthesis of the evidence and the experience of grantees.
Practitioner tools
Help organizations apply research findings.
Journalistic accounts and video interviews of leaders
Report on field experiences based on interviews. Less formal than other studies.

6. Our quality assurance process
Competitive process for selecting research partners. Recent partners have included:
RAND
Policy Studies Associates
University of Washington
University of Chicago
University of Texas, Austin
Quality review by Wallace experts in research, program and communications (and outside reviewers, as needed). Products assessed for:
Objectivity
Credibility
Accuracy
Organization
Clarity
Publication on Wallace website only if a product meets those standards.

7. Broad use of knowledge products
All are posted on wallacefoundation.org – total downloads exceed 700,000 per year
Aimed mainly at practitioners and policymakers and their influencers
Since 2007, a total of 5,500 citations of research by scholars

8. Selected national partners working with Wallace on school leadership
Council of Chief State School Officers
National Governors Association
National Council of State Legislatures
Council of the Great City Schools
American Association of School Administrators
National Association of Elementary School Principals
National Association of Secondary School Principals
American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education
University Council for Educational Administration
George W. Bush Institute
National Urban League
American Institutes for Research
RAND
Policy Studies Associates
University of Washington, Center for Educational Leadership

9. Find this resource and others at:
New CCSSO online guide for states on using ESSA to elevate school leadership
A new RAND report that details funding opportunities and the evidence behind school leadership activities
An assessment to determine how school leadership currently fits into your state’s education agenda
A comprehensive bibliography of publications on school leadership topics
Tools to craft plans and engage stakeholders
A guide on how to prioritize school leadership in your state’s ESSA plan
Find this resource and others at:

10. Wide array of research on education leadership

11. Agenda for today’s discussion
Brief background on The Wallace Foundation
Evidence on education leadership
A view from the field: What states are doing
Implications for ESSA
Discussion

12. 30+ studies on school leadership meet ESSA evidence requirements
18 meet Tiers I through III evidence requirements
Key conclusions:
“School leadership can be a powerful driver of improved education outcomes.”
“Activities designed to improve school leadership demonstrate positive impact on student, teacher, and principal outcomes….”
Source: School Leadership Interventions Under the Every Student Succeeds Act Evidence Review, Rebecca Herman, et al, RAND, 2016

13. Principals are key to student learning
Principals are “second only to classroom instruction among all school-related factors that contribute to what students learn at school.”
-- How Leadership Influences Student Learning, Kenneth Leithwood, et al, University of Minnesota, University of Toronto, 2004
“Principals are multipliers of effective teaching.”
-- Developing Excellent School Principals to Advance Teaching and Learning: Considerations for State Policy, Paul Manna, The Wallace Foundation, 2015

14. In all sectors Reform occurs in multiple sectors:
Public
Private
Charter, e.g. KIPP
Leaders play the same role regardless of the sector, they:
Shape a vision of academic success for all students
Create a climate hospitable to education
Cultivate leadership in others
Improve instruction
Manage people, data and processes to foster school improvement
Source: The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning, The Wallace Foundation, 2013

15. Principals are key to retaining good teachers
“Teacher turnover is lower in schools led by high-quality principals…. Research further indicates that principal turnover leads to lower teacher retention and lower gains for students.”
-- School Leadership Interventions Under the
Every Student Succeeds Act: Evidence Review,
Rebecca Herman, et al, RAND, 2016
“Principal effectiveness is associated with greater teacher satisfaction and a lower probability that the teacher leaves the school within a year. Moreover, the positive impacts of principal effectiveness on these teacher outcomes are even greater in disadvantaged schools.”
-- Can Good Principals Keep Teachers in Disadvantaged Schools? Linking Principal Effectiveness to Teacher Satisfaction and Turnover in Hard-to-Staff Environments, Jason A. Grissom, Teachers College Record, 2011

16. Principals are critical to improving struggling schools
“…there are virtually no documented instances of troubled schools being turned around without intervention by a powerful leader. Many other factors may contribute to such turnarounds, but leadership is the catalyst.”
“There seems little doubt that both district and school leadership provides a critical bridge between most educational-reform initiatives, and having those reforms make a genuine difference for all students.”
-- How Leadership Influences Student Learning, Kenneth Leithwood, et al, University of Minnesota, University of Toronto, 2004

17. Leadership is important to state school improvement efforts
“Especially during the last five to ten years, states have pushed forward ambitious education initiatives that will be unlikely to succeed without principals actively leading the work on the ground.”
-- Developing Excellent School Principals to Advance Teaching and Learning, Paul Manna, 2015

18. ‘Certified’ is not necessarily ‘qualified’
Graduates of effective programs are:
Better-prepared
Perform better in high-needs schools
Twice as likely to actually become principals
60 percent vs percent
Source: Preparing School Leaders for a Changing World,
Linda Darling-Hammond, et al, Stanford University, 2007

19. Characteristics of effective leader training programs
Selective admissions
Focus on change leadership and instruction
Partnership with districts that hire graduates
“Pre-service” extends to the early years on the job (mentoring is especially important)
States can make better use of their authority. Align with licensure.
Source: The Making of the Principal: Five Lessons in Leadership Training, The Wallace Foundation, 2012

20. Principal pipelines benefit both districts and new principals
The benefits for both districts and new principals are substantial
Leader standards are important
Leader evaluation systems seen as ‘fair’
Mentors and principal supervisors most valued supports among novice principals
Districts can do it
Source: The Principal Pipeline Initiative in Action, Building a Stronger Principalship Vol 5, Brenda Turnbull, et al, Policy Studies Associates, 2016

21. Standards are an important foundation for principal pipelines
“The standards brought coherence to district actions and provided a common language for discussing school leadership.”
“Districts actively used standards to help align their principal preparation programs, hiring criteria, and on the job evaluation rubrics with district priorities for school leadership.”
Source: The Principal Pipeline in Action, Building a Stronger Principalship Vol 5, Policy Studies Associates, 2016; Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2015

22. Principal pipelines are cost effective
Because of leaders’ influence on schools, “efforts to improve their recruitment, training, evaluation and ongoing development should be considered highly cost-effective approaches to successful school improvement.”
– How Leadership Influences Student Learning, Kenneth Leithwood, et al, University of Minnesota, University of Toronto, 2004
New RAND study finds principal pipelines are affordable
Pipelines are 0.4% of annual district budgets, according to study of six districts
Minimal cost for two “quick wins” – leader standards and selective hiring
Coaching/Mentoring: Average cost $1,500 per principal
-- Source: What it Takes to Operate and Maintain Principal Pipelines, Julia H. Kaufman, et al, RAND, 2017

23. Principal supervisors play an important role in supporting principals
Principals need support from principal supervisors, including relevant evaluation, in order to maximize their impact
A focus on strengthening teaching and learning is crucial
Representative survey of principals nationwide finds principals value their supervision and mentoring more when it’s focused on instruction
86% of principals in six urban districts who were advised to improve received support to do so from their supervisors
Source: Support for Instructional Leadership, RAND, 2016; and Evaluating and Supporting Principals, Building a Stronger Principalship, Volume 4, Policy Studies Associates, 2016

24. Practitioner tools help translate evidence into practice
Source: Principal Supervisor 360 Tools, University of Washington, 2014; Principal Preparation Program Self-Assessment Toolkit, Education Development Center, 2009 and 2013; Model Principal Supervisor Standards, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2015.

25. Wallace’s University Principal Preparation Initiative
What’s next?
Wallace’s University Principal Preparation Initiative
Our goal is to learn how university principal preparation programs—working in partnership with high-needs school districts, exemplary preparation programs and the state— improve their training so it reflects the evidence on how to best prepare effective principals.
7 universities in this initiative, with their state and districts
Major evaluation by RAND is underway
Evidence on the universities and the districts for which they prepare principals

26. Landscape surveys on principal preparation
Districts dissatisfied; universities also want to improve
Strong university-district partnerships are important, but rare
Course of study does not match on-the- job realities
States have authority to improve principal preparation, but are not using it as effectively as they could.
Source: Improving University Principal Preparation Programs, The Wallace Foundation, 2016

27. Wallace’s university principal preparation initiative design
State policies
Districts that employ graduates
7 University programs
6 partner providers
Evaluation
Technical assistance, professional learning community
Conference to share lessons with non-grantees

28. Agenda for today’s discussion
Brief background on The Wallace Foundation
Evidence on education leadership
A view from the field: What states are doing
Implications for ESSA
Discussion

29. 34 states and D.C. working with Wallace and/or CCSSO on school leadership strategies
Hawaii
Wallace/CCSSO
CCSSO

30. Policy Studies Associates: Many states now focused on improving school leadership
May 2017 survey of 25 states; 55 respondents from CCSSO’s Cross-State Action Groups
Key conclusion: “Many states are working to improve school leadership, some on a scale that is unprecedented.”
What has been helpful:
Evidence
Professional Standards for Educational Leaders
Flexibility in ESSA
Available support from organizations focused in school leadership
Source: State Efforts to Strengthen School Leadership, Policy Studies Associates, May 2017

31. Most focusing on strengthening support and PD for principals after making little progress in the past
Source: State Efforts to Strengthen School Leadership, Policy Studies Associates, May 2017

32. Similar findings for principal supervisors and principal preparation
Source: State Efforts to Strengthen School Leadership, Policy Studies Associates, May 2017

33. What the 25 states are working on
Principal mentoring and coaching (77%)
Professional development of novice principals (75%
Professional development of veteran principals (73%)
Principal capacity to provide feedback and develop teachers (71%)
Developing principals of low-performing or hard-to- staff schools (69%)
Source: State Efforts to Strengthen School Leadership, Policy Studies Associates, May 2017

34. Agenda for today’s discussion
Brief background on The Wallace Foundation
Evidence on education leadership
A view from the field: What states are doing
Implications for ESSA
Discussion

35. Main ESSA entry points for principals and other school leaders
Title I: School Improvement
Title IIA: “Building Systems of Support for Excellent Teaching and Leading”
Principal supervisors, previously unclear as to their eligibility for support, are explicitly included in current Title II, Part A non- regulatory guidance

36. Title II, Part A non-regulatory guidance supports state flexibility
Examples of categories of allowable expenditures mentioned:
Principal Preparation Academies
Clinical experiences (residencies)
Developing standards, certification, licensure
Induction and mentoring
Leader evaluation systems
Principal professional development
Principal supervisors
Principal pipeline
Retaining leaders in high needs schools
The guidance explicitly recognizes additional qualifying activities

37. Title II, Part A non-regulatory guidance offers examples of evidence-based strategies
From Chaos to Coherence: A Policy Agenda for Assessing and Using Outcomes in Educator Preparation – Deans for Impact
Our Responsibility, Our promise: Transforming Educator Preparation and Entry into the Profession - The Council of Chief State School Officers
How Leadership Influences Student Learning – Leithwood, et. al.
Districts taking charge of the principal pipeline – Policy Studies Associates
Principles and standards and NACSA’s 12 essential practices – The National Alliance of Charter School Authorizers

38. How two states are using Title II flexibility and evidence to improve school leadership
Both states using 3% set-aside to implement strategies based on evidence
Tennessee
Under Commissioner Candice McQueen, Tennessee will fund the implementation of the Tennessee Transformational Leadership Alliance’s plan to develop regional partnerships between districts and universities to create pipelines of high-quality principals
Strong focus on leadership in school improvement strategies
Missouri
Under Commissioner Margaret Vandeven, Missouri will move toward training and coaching for all principals in the state at scale.
Next year will offer intensive training and support for principals in their first or second years with other sessions for principals of three years and up.
The state will coordinate all training with a larger system of workforce development and will pay for all principal mentoring; whereas previously districts assumed the cost.
Source: Tennessee Department of Education; Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary School Education

39. Agenda for today’s discussion
Brief background on The Wallace Foundation
Evidence on education leadership
A view from the field: What states are doing
Implications for ESSA
Discussion

40. These materials constitute non-partisan analysis and research intended for educational purposes only.

41. For more information – wallacefoundation.org