A Study of the Relationships between Superintendent Longevity, Board Member Longevity, Board Member Training, and School Districts Demonstrating Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) During the 2004-2005 School Year

Expectations for school districts and educators are high; and expectations for those governing schools are even higher yet. NCLB poses a substantial challenge to those governing school districts: all students must be 100% proficient in language arts and mathematics by 2014. In the face of the demands of the standards movement and the increased accountability placed upon those governing schools, school board members need to know if the research base has identified any characteristics to their service on school boards that can be found to have a correlation to improving the effectiveness of their school districts. This study employed correlation research to determine whether a relationship existed between superintendent longevity, school board member longevity, school board member training, and Pennsylvania school districts that demonstrated Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) during the 2004-2005 school year. AYP was selected as a barometer of school effectiveness because it is the most prominent and widely accepted National measure of school achievement in place as a result of NCLB. A two-part survey questionnaire was sent to Pennsylvania school district superintendents to investigate the following research questions: 1) What is the relationship between the tenure of the school district superintendent and districts demonstrating AYP? 2) What is the relationship between years of experience of school board members and districts demonstrating AYP? 3) What is the relationship between school board member participation in voluntary in-service training programs and districts demonstrating AYP? Findings revealed that there is not a statistically significant relationship between the tenure of the school district superintendent and districts demonstrating AYP. Conversely, a positive correlation was found between the years of experience of school board members and districts demonstrating AYP. Last, there was not a statistically significant relationship between school board member participation in voluntary in-service training programs and districts demonstrating AYP. A Likert survey generated from a review of relevant literature found that nearly 60% of superintendents responding disagreed that District AYP is a valid measure of achievement in their school districts. Further research on identifying relationships of governance attributes as they relate to school districts ability to demonstrate AYP is recommended