Relationship Between the Implementation Practices of School Principals and Student Achievement in Reading

This exploratory study investigated the effects of principal implementation behaviors, specifically those influencing early reading programs, on student growth in oral reading fluency (ORF) of first grade students in Florida's Reading First schools. This study examined the relationship between the principal's role in the implementation of effective reading programs and student achievement in reading. Data consisted of (a) responses to the Principal Implementation Questionnaire (PIQ), and (b) student reading achievement records as measured by DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) scores. A three-level growth curve model was used to determine the amount of student-level variance that can be explained by the five dimensions measured by the PIQ. Positive, statistically significant relationships were found between selected principal implementation practices (as measured by the PIQ) and student growth in oral reading fluency. This study concluded that certain principal behaviors associated with implementing effective reading programs display a direct, linear relationship to student achievement. Further, while these relationships account for a small proportion of the total student achievement variability in reading, they are of sufficient magnitude to be of interest and additional investigation. Findings should be used to develop professional development opportunities tailored to teach effective implementation of reading interventions for struggling readers across all subgroups to principals. Future research also has the potential to discriminate between students with differing classifications of disabilities in relation to principal effects on reading.