Leadership, professional development, and accountability scores: Evidence from Kentucky Scholastic Audits

When Kentucky passed the 1990 Reform Act, many educators, as well as legislators, thought it was a huge mistake that would be corrected the next time the legislature was back in session. Seventeen years later the original reform has withstood major challenges and has received national acclaim. By virtue of this Reform Act, Kentucky has been the first state to extend the standards-based curriculum accountability movement to whole school reform.The Standards and Indicators for School Improvement (SISI) document constitutes the framework for the audit process. Nine standards are divided into headings of Academic Performance (Standards 1, 2, and 3), Learning Environment (Standards 4, 5, and 6), and Efficiency (Standards 7, 8, and 9). Each of the nine standards has its own set of indicators, ranging in number from five to sixteen. The SISI document provides a behavioral description on four levels of each of the total 88 indicators. Data from 181 elementary schools that either conducted Scholastic Audits or Reviews are compared to Academic Index scores to determine the effect of Leadership on student achievement, as mediated by Professional Development.This is a quantitative research study where the school was the unit of analysis. Multiple regressions were the primary form of analysis. In the hierarchical study model, 70% of the variation of the Academic Index was explained by Demographics (62%), Leadership (7%) and Professional Growth, Development and Evaluation (2%).This study signifies the importance of leadership on teacher professional development and student achievement. It confirms what many authorities have previously stated about the significance of demographic factors on student outcomes. It also connected professional development with academic achievement. These analyses challenge all legislators and educators to provide necessary resources for disadvantaged schools to enable "all children to learn."The purpose of this study was to add to the limited knowledge base regarding the effectiveness of professional development practices, particularly as linked to instructional leadership within Kentucky's high-stakes accountability environment. The researcher used a secondary database from the Kentucky Department of Education compiled through the Scholastic Audit process and supplemented by information from the Kentucky Performance Report database. The Scholastic Audit represents the process by which the Kentucky Department of Education provides an intensive review of the academic effectiveness and the learning environment of schools.