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Buoyed by the drive to become one of the top 10 education states by 2020,Missouri placed a tremendous focus on student achievement. In Missouri, suchachievement was measured using Annual Performance Report (APR) scores. As one ofthe state’s accountability measurements, APR was comprised of five subset scores:academic achievement, subgroup achievement, college and career readiness, attendancerate, and graduation rate. Districts were held responsible by the public and the state formaintaining high levels of achievement. No other individual was held as accountable asthe district superintendent. However, research suggested that districts which frequentlychanged superintendents were unable to sustain the momentum needed to improve(Fullan, 2002). Whether there was a direct correlation between superintendent longevityand student achievement in Missouri schools was unknown prior to this study.The study focused on the relationship between superintendent longevity andstudent achievement in Missouri. For purposes of the study, achievement was measuredusing districts’ APR scores (including the five subset scores) from 2014-2015.Superintendent data were drawn from those individuals who had served as superintendentfor at least five years in the same district in 2014-2015. Ten research questions guidedthe study, most of which focused on the correlations between longevity and achievement.Additionally, longevity was placed in context with three other variables (district size,percentage of free and reduced lunch, total district service) to predict studentachievement. Correlations were also established between longevity and the threepredictor variables. Significant correlations were found between superintendent longevity and sixvariables: academic achievement, subgroup achievement, college and career readiness,overall APR scores, free and reduced lunch percentage, and total district service.However, all the correlations were weak and provided little explanation of variabilitybetween longevity and achievement. A multiple regression model was formed anddemonstrated that two variables were able to significantly predict achievement: free andreduced lunch percentage and superintendent longevity. However, the variability wasalso weak and offered little practical significance. The study concludes with implicationsfor practitioners and recommendations for future researchers. |
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