The Impact of Personal and Program Characteristics on the Placement of School Leadership Preparation Program Graduates in School Leader Positions

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of personal and program characteristics on the placement of graduates of principal preparation programs in assistant principal, principal, and school leadership positions. Research Design: This study relies on Texas principal production data from 1993 through 2007 matched to employment data from 1993 through 2013. The data include personal characteristics of each program’s graduates (age, sex, and race/ethnicity), program characteristics (program type, percentages of female graduates, and percentage of White graduates), labor market location, and certification year. We employ both descriptive statistics and multilevel logistic regression analysis to examine the factors associated with obtaining employment as an assistant principal, principal, and school leader. Findings: At least 50% of graduates obtained placement as a school leader within 5 years and about 70% did so over 10 years. Within 5 years of certification, men, Latinos, and middle-aged graduates had greater odds of employment as a school leader than women, Whites, and younger and older graduates, respectively. Differences arose, however, when examining placement as an assistant principal and principal separately. In particular, Black and Latina/o graduates had greater odds of employment as an assistant principal but had lower odds of employment as a principal than their White peers. Finally, there were few program characteristics associated with placement, and differences between programs explained very little of the variation in placement rates, bringing into question efforts to hold programs accountable for such outcomes.