Tennessee鈥檚 principal licensure exam is a poor predictor of effective leadership, and raising the cut score required for licensure could be counterproductive to diversity efforts, according to a new study by Vanderbilt University鈥檚 .
Tennessee is among 18 U.S. states and territories that rely on the when licensing principals. Researchers analyzed data for 10 years of Tennessee test takers, including their performance evaluations, student achievement in their schools, and their teachers鈥� survey ratings of school leadership. They found little evidence that SLLA scores predict how a principal will perform in the job.
鈥淣either surpassing the SLLA cut score nor obtaining a higher score on the exam served as a useful predictor of future principal job performance in our samples,鈥� said lead investigator , associate professor of policy and education at Vanderbilt鈥檚 of education and human development.
Principal candidates in Tennessee must score at or above 160 on the SLLA. This cut score is the lowest among all states in the United States. This low cut score allowed researchers to compare the job performance of Tennessee principals who passed Tennessee鈥檚 cut score but would have failed if Tennessee employed the higher cut scores used in neighboring states.
Principal candidates are also required to complete a state-approved school administrator preparation program, hold a valid Tennessee educator license, and have at least three years of education work experience to be licensed in school administration.
Grissom and his colleagues also found that candidates of color were 12 percentage points less likely than otherwise similar white test takers to attain the required licensure score on the SLLA, thus making it far less likely they were eligible to be hired as principals. They predict that gaps are even larger in other states.
“Our results raise questions about whether conditioning administrative licensure on SLLA passage improves the quality of the school leader workforce.鈥�
鈥擩ason Grissom
The possible reasons the test is non-predictive of successful leadership may overlap with why test-takers of color are less likely to score highly, Grissom said.
鈥淭he SLLA is trying to measure whether principals have the leadership knowledge to be ready to lead a school. But it may not measure the right kinds of knowledge, or that knowledge may not translate into the behaviors needed to be an effective principal, which are really difficult,鈥� he said. 鈥淟eaders of color may bring a different kind of knowledge and experiences to the table that are just as useful for school leadership but that aren鈥檛 being measured by the test.鈥�
, Grissom has shed light on the positive impact of diversity in school leadership on an increasingly diverse student population. Yet a lack of diversity in school leadership remains. In Tennessee, as of 2016, students of color make up approximately 35 percent of enrollment, while just 20 percent of principals are non-white.
鈥淥ur results raise questions about whether conditioning administrative licensure on SLLA passage improves the quality of the school leader workforce,鈥� Grissom said. 鈥淭he exam fails to predict leadership outcomes the state values, and it appears to hinder principal workforce diversity goals.鈥�
This research is a product of the , a joint effort of and the Tennessee Department of Education. This partnership produces rigorous research studies to inform the state鈥檚 school improvement efforts and contribute to the national conversation on education policy and practice.
Co-authors of the study are: Hajime Mitani, assistant professor of educational leadership at Rowan University; and Richard Blissett, a doctoral candidate in educational leadership and policy studies at Peabody.