Do All Students Have Access to Great Principals?

About the Brief

This second brief in a series aimed at expanding our understanding of school leadership in Tennessee explores how principal quality is distributed across the state. TERA researchers find that effective school leaders are distributed unevenly across Tennessee schools.

Key Findings

1. Principal quality is unevenly distributed in Tennessee. More experienced and higher rated principals are concentrated in schools with fewer students in poverty, low-achieving students, and students of color.
2. Hiring and turnover drive inequities in principal quality across the state. Schools with higher proportions of students in poverty, low-achieving students, and students of color are more likely to hire inexperienced or ineffective principals and to experience greater principal turnover.