Study: Leadership in school administrators plays huge role in performance

St. Paul, Minn. — A new study from the University Minnesota re-affirms the importance of having strong leadership from school principals and superintendents.

Researchers surveyed more than 8,000 teachers and administrators in nine states, and found that the people leading schools are more likely to affect student outcomes than other factors like poverty or geography.

U of M researcher Kyla Wahlstrom said her study was larger than others on the topic, but came to similar conclusions.

"Leadership makes a huge difference, and I think anybody who's in the field knows that," Wahlstrom said. "But we've not had good empirical research-based information that has proven that, and that's what I think that study does."

Wahlstrom said the study also found that schools shouldn't change principals just for the sake of change -- because turnover in leadership also hampers achievement.