Michigan public school superintendents' perceptions of the Interstate Leadership Licensure Consortium standards for principals

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of Michigan Public school superintendents regarding their perceptions of the importance of performance descriptors that should be incorporated by principals in accomplishing tasks associated with day-to-day activities in their schools as outlined by the Interstate Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) standards. A secondary purpose was to examine the degree to which responding superintendents referenced the ISLLC standards in the course of the principal's performance evaluation. This study compared perceptions of Michigan school superintendents in school districts that based principals' evaluation on ISLLC standards and superintendents in school districts that used alternative criteria for assessing principals' performance. A nonexperimental, descriptive research design was used in this study. Data were analyzed to determine the degree to which Michigan public school superintendents considered the leadership standards important in the evaluation of principals. Superintendents perceived the performance activities on the eight subscales measuring the six ISLLC standards were important. Superintendents in large school districts perceived that performance activities associated with the six ISLLC standards were more important than superintendents in small school districts with the exception of the subscale measuring community interactions. No evidence of statistically significant differences were found between superintendents that referenced the standards to evaluate their principals and superintendents who used alternative criteria. Most superintendents who perceived that the use of ISLLC standards did not impact principal performance also perceived that the use of these standards had no impact on student achievement. Comments and open-ended responses indicated that most superintendents were not aware of ISLLC standards, although a review of some principal evaluation forms provided evidence that some performance activities were included as part of their appraisal of the principal's performance. Although most superintendents were unaware of the specific ISLLC standards, it appears that these activities are a part of being an instructional leader in effective schools.