McREL News Room

McREL releases findings from largest-ever examination
of quantitative research on school leadership

September 15, 2003

To develop the study, titled Balanced Leadership: What 30 years of research tells us about the effect of leadership on student achievement, McREL researchers examined nearly every study since the early 1970s that purported to examine the effects of leadership on student achievement.

From a total of more than 5,000 studies completed during this period, 70 met McREL criteria for design, controls, data analysis, and rigor and were included in the meta-analysis. Together, these 70 studies create an enormous sample size — 2,894 schools, approximately 1.1 million students, and 14,000 teachers.

Some of the reports key findings are as follows:

• Leadership matters. McREL found that a significant, positive correlation exists between effective school leadership and student achievement.
• Effective leadership can be empirically defined. Contrary to misperceptions that leadership is more art than science, McREL was able to identify 21 key leadership responsibilities that are significantly correlated with higher student achievement.Effective leaders not only know what to do, but when, how, and why to do it. McREL identified this as the essence of balanced leadership — knowing not only which school changes are most likely to improve student achievement, but also understanding staff and community members’ disposition to change and tailoring leadership practices accordingly.

“We believe this report could not be more timely,” said Tim Waters, President and CEO of McREL and lead author of the report. “The No Child Left Behind Act will undoubtedly require schools across the nation to undertake dramatic improvement efforts to ensure the success of all students. Ultimately, these improvement efforts will rest on the shoulders of school principals, who will need proven, practical guidance to lead these changes.”

To download a free copy of the Balanced Leadership report, go to the McREL homepage at www.mcrel.org and look under the “What’s New” section.

Balanced Leadership represents the third of a series of McREL research meta-analyses — a widely accepted method for combining and analyzing the findings of different quantitative research studies. McREL’s first two meta-analyses focused on the impact of school and teacher practices on student achievement. These two reports are available online at

www.mcrel.org/PDF/Instruction/5982RR_InstructionMeta_Analysis.pdf; and www.mcrel.org/PDF/SchoolImprovementReform/5002RR_NewEraSchoolReform.pdf.

McREL will continue to analyze the data from its meta-analysis of leadership research to tease out statistical relationships among the 21 key leadership responsibilities. Doing so may allow researchers to group these responsibilities together into a smaller, more manageable set of key leadership traits. McREL will also analyze the data to provide leaders with empirical guidance on how, when, and why to employ particular leadership practices.

“Through this series of meta-analytic studies, we are beginning to advance the science of education. In doing so, we are placing at the fingertips of educators proven, practical strategies for improving the outcomes of all students,” said Waters.

McREL is a nationally recognized, private, nonprofit organization located in Aurora, Colo., dedicated to improving education for all students through applied research, product development and service. Its staff of highly respected educators and researchers focuses on providing educators and policymakers with the highest quality, field-tested, research-based products and services available in PreK–16 education.