Leaders are readers! (But what are they reading?)

One of my educational leadership mentors once told me that “leaders are readers.” That is, if educators desire to model the same lifelong learning disposition we desire to help our students become, our learning as adults should never end! While there are a growing number of educational blogs, Twitter chats, and podcasts available today to learn from, a colleague and I recently sought to identify the types of educational journals practicing superintendents read. Through a *survey of 233 public school superintendents across ten states, we found many superintendents are reading publications provided by professional and trade organizations rather than peer-reviewed journals. Below is a list of the top five journals public school superintendents indicated they are reading:

1) Educational Leadership
2) School Administrator
3) Education Week
4) American School Board Journal
5) NASSP Bulletin


School superintendents, like all other K-12 education staff, are busy planning for, implementing and managing the day-to-day operations of the educational system. Therefore, they are more likely to read publications that are written using language that speaks to their day-to-day dilemmas and celebrations. Furthermore, busy school superintendents are more likely to access publications provided by professional and trade organizations, because they often included with the membership dues and land directly in their mailbox or email inbox. Spoiler alert: My colleague and I also asked public school principals what journals they are reading, and the results were strikingly similar!

Reflection:

  • What educational journals are you reading this school year? How do you access these journals?
  • What makes an educational journal worth picking up to read on the weekend or after your ownkids go to bed?

I would love to hear from you!

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*To access the article describing this research study, “Leaders Are Readers: What Journals Do Public School Superintendents Read?” written by Matt Townsley and Benterah Morton, click here for a PDF of the Summer 2022 issue of AASA’s Journal of Scholarship & Practice.

**This article summary originally appeared in Iowa ASCD’s The Source e-newsletter (September 2022).

Standards-Based Grading and College/University Admissions (Summary)

Two articles were published in the February 2018 issue of School Administrator (AASA) describing university admissions office perspectives on standards-based grading (SBG).  The full e-edition is available online and brief summary of each article is below.

High school students experiencing SBG receive a fair shot at higher education admissions

The authors interviewed admissions folks at several Midwestern universities with the purpose of determining if high school students experiencing standards-based grading receive a fair shot in the university admissions process.  Three key findings emerged.

  1. Letter grades and transcripts based on standards are acceptable, if not preferable, by admissions folks, with a few caveats.
  2. When universities receive profiles/transcripts from schools with alternative grading/reporting systems, these students receive equal consideration.
  3. Due to limited personnel in the admissions office, grades and standardized tests are the most trusted measures.

Buckmiller, T., & Peters, R. (2018). Getting a fair shot?. School Administrator, 75(2), 22-25. [Available online]

University admissions offices are aware of SBG and preparing to adapt, as needed.

Voices from university admissions administrators across the country share their experiences with class rank, standards-based grading, and alternative reporting measures.  For example, Paul Seegert, director of admissions at the University of Washington, says he does not believe students currently applying under a standards-based are at a disadvantage in the admissions process.  If/when high school transcripts change, the general consensus shared is that admissions offices will need to be better prepared.  However, the “fact that college admissions offices will have to make some adjustments should not deter high schools from pursuing meaningful reforms in the way they teach and evaluate students” (p. 29).

Riede, P. (2018). Making the call inside admissions offices. School Administrator, 75(2), 26-29.

Mastery-minded grading in secondary schools

I was invited to share our district’s standards-based grading journey with the national superintendents’ professional organization, AASA.  A brief summary:

In Solon, Iowa, teachers’ gradebooks describe students’ current levels of learning without the customary array of A’s and C’s or numerical grades. The small district is at the forefront of a new assessment movement in some local schools known as standards-based grading.

Read the entire February 2018 e-edition of AASA’s School Administrator publication or access the individual article here.

Three Lessons for Schools Shifting Their Grading

I was recently invited to write a brief article for School Administrator, an AASA (The School Superintendents’ Association) publication.  “Three Lessons for Schools Shifting Their Grading” was embedded within a feature article about standards-based grading, (a well written one, I might add) by Ken O’Connor.

The full article is available via the AASA digital magazine link here.