What is a school leader’s role in student achievement?
Now that we have defined student achievement, we need to understand the role of a school leader. Since student achievement is measured based on students’ performance on state tests, which assess whether students have met state standards, the role of a school leader is to ensure that school instruction and assessment is standards driven.
What does standards driven instruction look like? The Florida Department of Education Bureau of Curriculum and Instruction (2011) states “the standards delineate what matters, provide clarity and a fixed point of reference for students and teachers, guide instruction so that it is focused on student learning, provide a common language to have clarity in collaborations, help ensure equal educational opportunities, and assist in identifying struggling students.” Additionally, this department provides a sequential plan for standards driven instruction that begins with standard or benchmark aligned to course description, followed by the creation of learning goals, then having an engaging lesson that includes appropriate and meaningful activities, and ending with a myriad of different assessments that provide multiple sources of student data to guide decisions about adjusting instruction and/or providing interventions.
A school leader must monitor the learning in the classroom by formal and informal observations, conferences with teachers to discuss lesson plans and student data, and collecting data to determine the effectiveness of the instruction. Leadership is second only to teaching among school-related factors that impact student learning (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, and Wahlstrom 2004). Additionally, the authors of this study have evidence that support the the fact that the impact of leadership tends to be the greatest in schools where the learning needs of students are most severe.
In The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning, one of the five key responsibilities of a school leader is shaping a vision of academic success for all students. The authors of How Leadership Influences Student Learning states that a high quality leader sets the direction for the school by creating a plan that everyone understands, establishing high expectations and using data to track progress and performance. Before you can create a plan, you must determine the goals. An effective school leader knows that the goals are based on students’ learning results on the state assessments.
Section 1008.22 of the Florida State Statutes describes the student assessment program for public schools. One of the purposes of the program is to assess the learning gains of each student towards achieving the state standards for each grade level. Additionally, Section 1008.22 states that student performance data on the state assessment must be used in the development of school improvement plans, which is part of Standard One of Domain One of the Florida Principal Leadership Standards. Therefore, a school leader’s role is to create school learning goals and student learning goals and create a plan that includes high expectations for all students and use data to monitor students’ progress.
