By Janice L. Taylor, EdD and Sharonda Pruitt, EdD
After teacher quality, leadership is the second most influential school-related factor on student achievement (Clifford, Behrstock-Sherratt, & Fetters, 2012). Research indicates that the length of time a principal spends in their current position can lead to higher student achievement outcomes (Brockmeier et al., 2013). According to Grissom et al. (2021), in 2016, the average time a principal spent in their school district had declined to four years when compared to 6.2 years in 1988. In high-needs schools or high-poverty schools, tenures are even shorter. The tenure of principals at high-poverty schools was 3.4 years in 2016 when compared to 4.3 years for principals at the lowest-poverty schools (Grissom et al, 2021). The national annual principal turnover rate in the highest-poverty schools was 28% when compared to 21% in the lowest-poverty schools (Grissom et al., 2019). Additionally, in 2016, the average number of years a public school principal spent at their current school was only four years (Grissom et al, 2021). This may have implications for impacting student achievement, specifically related to reading performance on standardized tests, especially for African American children.
Notably, the achievement of African American students on standardized tests consistently falls below their white peers, primarily due to their low reading achievement, also referred to as the ‘literacy gap’ (Ladson-Billings, 2006; Burstein & Cabello, 1989). Bazini defined ‘literacy gap’ as the difference in achievement levels on standardized assessments among students of diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. This literacy gap directly impacts African American students. By fourth grade, many African American students have difficulty comprehending text thematically and associating it with their own experiences. This hinders their reading progression, adversely impacting their academic performance, and increasing their likelihood of reading below basic reading levels when compared to their white peers. In 2006, according to Craig and Washington, only 40% of African American students were reading on grade level when compared to 75% of their white peers. More recent data indicate that the literacy gap is also present amongst third grade African American students and their white peers in Texas. The 2022-2023 Texas Academic Performance Report (TAPR) indicates that 40% of African American students achieved the rating of Meets Grade Level Standard in Reading/ELA on the STAAR test when compared to 63% of their white peers (Texas Education Agency, 2023).
Procedures and Data Analysis
Based on the literature about principal tenure and African American reading achievement, this study aimed to determine if there is a relationship between the experience of the campus instructional leader and the academic performance of African American students, specifically on the third grade reading STAAR test. The following research question guided this quantitative study: Is there a statistically significant predictive relationship between principal tenure and academic achievement among third grade African American students’ STAAR test reading scores?
Archived and publicly accessible data from the Texas Education Agency 2021-2022 Texas Academic Performance Report (Texas Education Agency, 2022) were used by the researchers. The independent variable, district-level third grade reading scores of African American students who achieved the TEA rating of Meets Grade Level Standard – Grade 3, African American, STAAR Reading/ELA Rating, was correlated to the dependent variable, the average number of years as a principal with the district. The data were disaggregated for each elementary school in the study’s sample and analyzed using statistical software at Intellectus Statistics. Since archived data from the Texas Education Agency 2021-2022 TAPR were used to conduct this study, the data met the validity and reliability standards for the application of the quantitative methodological approach used.
A linear regression analysis was conducted to assess whether principal tenure significantly predicted African American students meeting STAAR Reading Standard. The results of the linear regression model were not significant, indicating principal tenure did not explain a significant proportion of variation in third grade African American students meeting STAAR Reading Standard.
Strategies to Improve Literacy Among African American Students
The study’s variables of school leadership tenure and reading achievement among African American students are important. With this understanding, below is a list of strategies school leaders can utilize, and quickly implement, to enhance literacy among African American students on their school campus.
1. Bias recognition and training.
Bias can influence one’s beliefs and subjective thinking regarding a student’s ability, thereby reducing their expectations and expanding the existing achievement gap (Jacoby-Sneghor et al., 2016; Peterson et al., 2016). Being self-aware of ideas, myths, or beliefs that can impede the teacher and principal from successfully teaching and leading allows one to push past any blocks or biases. Batchelor et al. (2019) further states that a deeper awareness emerges in educators when they confront their biases that impact their decisions and behaviors. To train teachers to examine their own biases, the Kirwin Institute suggests the following: (a) have teachers take the Implicit Association Test; (b) encourage teachers to actively participate with groups of people outside of their own demographic and view situations from the perspectives of others; and (c) be accountable to themselves by examining their actions and beliefs (Batchelor et al., 2019).
2. Implement culturally responsive teaching practices.
The implementation of culturally responsive teaching is one way to address the literacy gap and inequities in the education system. Ladson-Billings (2006) and Burstein and Cabello (1989) stated that the low scores on standardized assessments and the overall academic achievement of African American students will not improve without the implementation of culturally responsive teaching strategies. Culturally responsive teaching occurs when African American students are afforded the opportunities to make connections to their own culture within the texts and curricula being taught, in addition to the world itself. Au (2007) stated that African American students need to see themselves in the context of the society in which they live in order to know that they can add value and make contributions in ways that matter to all. Bazini (2022) further stated that when children can read about and see themselves portrayed in characters in the reading materials, they feel valued and accepted in their environment. African American students need to see authentic and relevant depictions of their cultural beliefs, norms, backgrounds, customs, and traditions in their learning experiences that validate who they are.
3. Create a strong social network.
Having a strong social network can create qualities that principals can assert to make their schools effective. Social networks arise from Bourdieu’s (1986) social capital theory in which he argued that individuals have certain skills, networks, and resources. These resources, when utilized appropriately, can translate into certain advantages, or capital, in social situations. For principals, this ability to maneuver a community, nurture students, and motivate teachers can strengthen the longer that they serve a community or district (Bourdieu), hence the importance of principal tenure in a district. Principals, especially those who have served in a district for many years, and those who lead with an equity focus, should utilize their strong networks to garner needed resources that could assist in combating African American students’ literacy deficits. This includes seeking mentors for students, providing them with continuous access to books, and ensuring strong literacy instruction. Additionally, parents should be afforded opportunities to participate in school-based literacy activities such as family literacy nights. For parents who may be literacy-challenged, access to enhance their own literacy should be provided at the school campus.
Conclusion
Reading is the driver of all learning. The inability to read does not allow the development of language skills or knowledge to be obtained, transferred, and applied to all aspects of life. This study sought to find a relationship between principal tenure and the achievement of African American students who met grade level or above on the third grade STAAR reading test. The results of the linear regression model were not significant, indicating principal tenure did not explain a significant proportion of variation in African American students meeting the STAAR Reading Standard. Nonetheless, a focus on literacy in the early grades must remain a priority for school leaders to ensure that children are provided with learning opportunities to develop this essential skill so that they may lead productive lives.
School leadership tenure is representative of a true commitment to the students and parents of the school community in which the principals are rooted and serve. Although the data did not present a direct relationship between school leadership tenure and the reading achievement of African American students, we know that principals are committed to ensuring that all students meet reading achievement standards. Confronting one’s own biases through implicit bias training, implementing culturally responsive teaching practices, and utilizing existing social networks can be readily implemented to help improve literacy for students, especially African American children. Through utilizing these recommendations, school leaders will be able to motivate, inspire, encourage, and nurture a love of reading in all children.
Dr. Janice L. Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Lamar University where she enjoys teaching, coaching, and mentoring aspiring school leaders. Her research interests focus on women in leadership, school leadership in K-12 settings, resiliency in educators, and instructional leadership preparation.
Dr. Sharonda Pruitt is an Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership where she works to train the next group of aspiring educational leaders. With a strong interest in urban and rural communities, her research concentrations spotlight school leadership support for post-secondary success, school community partnerships, community-engaged leadership, rural/urban school leadership, and comparative education.
References
Au, K.H. (2007). Culturally responsive instruction: Application to multiethnic classrooms. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 2(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/15544800701343562
Batchelor, K. E., DeWater, K., & Thompson, K. (2019). Pre-service teachers’ implicit bias: Impacts of confrontation, reflection, and discussion. Journal of Educational Research and Innovation, (7)1, 1 – 18.
Bazini, E. (2022). Culturally responsive teaching as a way to narrow the opportunity gap for African American students. Culminating Experience Projects. 167. https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gradprojects/167
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). Greenwood.
Brockmeier, L. L., Starr, G., Green, R., Pate, J. L., & Leech, D. W. (2013). Principal and school-level effects on elementary school student achievement. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 8(1), 49-61.
Burstein, N.D., & Cabello, B. (1989). Preparing teachers to work with culturally diverse students: A teacher education model. Journal of Teacher Education, 9-16.
Clifford, M., Behrstock-Sherratt, E., & Fetters, J. (2012). The ripple effect: A synthesis of research on principal influence to inform performance evaluation design. American Institutes for Research.
Grissom, J. A., Egalite, A. J., & Lindsey, C. A.(2021). How principals affect students and schools: A systematic synthesis of two decades of research. New York: The Wallace Foundation. Available at http://www.wallacefoundation.org/principalsynthesis
Grissom, J. A., Mitani, H., & Woo, D. S. (2019). Principal preparation programs and principal outcomes. Educational Administration Quarterly, 55(1), 73-115.
Intellectus Statistics [Online computer software]. (2023). Intellectus Statistics. https://analyze.intellectusstatistics.com/
Jacoby-Sneghor, D. S., Sinclair, S., & Shelton, J. N. (2016). A lesson in bias: The relationship between implicit racial bias and performance in pedagogical contexts. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 63, 50-55.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2006). From the achievement gap to the education debt: Understanding achievement in U.S. schools. Educational Researcher, 35(7), 3–12. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3876731
Peterson, E. R., Rubie-Davis, C., Osborne, D., & Sibley, C. (2016). Teachers’ explicit expectations and implicit prejudiced attitudes to educational achievement: Relations with student achievement and the ethnic achievement gap. Learning and Instruction, 42, 123-140.
Texas Education Agency. 2021-22 Texas academic performance reports. Retrieved October 24, 2023, from https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/perfreport/tapr/2022/index.html
Texas Education Agency. 2022-23 Texas academic performance reports. Retrieved October 24, 2023, from https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/perfreport/tapr/2022/index.html
TEPSA Leader, Spring 2024, Vol 37, No 2
Copyright © 2024 by the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association. No part of articles in TEPSA publications or on the website may be reproduced in any medium without the permission of the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association.
