Evaluating school principals based on their students’ overall performance on standardized tests may be misleading at best. While decades of research shows that principals can positively impact some student outcomes, such as classroom grades and college plans, a new study suggests that a principal’s influence on standardized test scores is significantly less than previously believed.

Bottom line: School boards (and even legislators) need to know that evaluating the performance level of a principal based on the school’s standardized test scores is likely a flawed indicator. Numerous additional methodologies exist that are much more valid.