Effects of Student Characteristics, Principal Qualifications, and Organizational Constraints for Assessing Student Achievement: A School Public Relations and Human Resources Concern

Abstract

Standards-based student achievement scores are used to assess the effectiveness of public education and to have important implications regarding school public relations and human resource practices. Often overlooked is that these scores may be moderated by the characteristics of students, the qualifications of principals, and the restraints imposed on elementary schools. To assess this potential, 480 elementary school buildings were sampled at random, and achievement scores were regressed on these potential moderators. Results indicate that achievement scores are influenced by the socioeconomic status of students, the percentage of English-language learners, building enrollment, and per-pupil expenditure. These findings are discussed from a school public relations perspective as well as from a human resources perspective.

Effects of Organizational Characteristics and Human Capital Endowments on Pay of Female and Male Middle School Principals

“…Overlooked in the pay discrimination literature is any consideration for student bodies served as an organizational characteristic, and student bodies can vary according to racial diversity, English language learners, and poverty. Among these sources of variation, recent research (Young, Vang, & Young, 2009) indicates that poverty is the most important, and school buildings with a high percentage of poverty students are difficult to staff and are staffed by the least qualified principals (Clotefelter, Ladd, Vigdor, & Wheeler, 2007). As such, we use as a control (i.e., input) variable the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch because less qualified and recent entries to the middle school principalship may accept these less sought positions commanding lower pay.…”