THE INFLUENCE OF SUPERINTENDENTS ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Abstract

It is often assumed that administrators exert an influence on the performance of their organizational units. While there is mounting evidence regarding the influence exerted by principals on the academic performance of schools, little attention has been paid to examining the influence exerted by superintendents on the academic performance of school districts. In this study, a sample of California school districts was employed to estimate the influence of superintendents, controlling for environmental and district factors, on the performance of sixth and twelfth grade students on the mathematics and reading sections of the standardized achievement test of the California Assessment Program. An analysis of the components of variation was conducted to determine the relative percent of variance attributable to environmental and district factors and to superintendents. It was found that superintendents exerted a small influence on the academic performance of school districts. Further, it was found that superintendents had a relatively greater influence on sixth grade test scores than they had on twelfth grade test scores.

Citation

WEAVER HART, A. and OGAWA, R.T. (1987), "THE INFLUENCE OF SUPERINTENDENTS ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 72-84. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009926