Examining Alternative Principal Licensure in Ohio: How Licensure Pathway and Poverty Level Explain Variance in Student Performance

Keywords

Principal preparation; Alternative licensure; Student performance

Abstract

The rise of alternative principal licensure raises questions about the effectiveness of leaders that are less rigorously prepared. In Ohio, the alternative principal pathway consists of six credit hours of coursework and three years of on-the-job practice; far less formal coursework than traditional licensure (which also requires on-the-job experience) In this cross-sectional study using publicly available data (N=3189), we used weighted least squares regression to examine the role of principal licensure pathways in explaining variance in student outcomes while accounting for poverty level. Principal licensure pathways accounted for a small amount of variance in student outcomes (performance index) over and above the large amount explained by poverty level. T-tests revealed that overall, schools with alternatively licensed principals in Ohio had lower mean performance index scores. After breaking schools into higher and lower poverty groups, t-tests demonstrated that student outcomes were only significantly different by licensure type in the higher poverty group, and higher poverty schools were more likely to have alternatively prepared principals. Implications for practice, policy and research focus on increased scrutiny of the alternative pathway, particularly as it pertains to underserved, high-poverty schools.

Recommended Citation

Willis, Chris; Galletta Horner, Christy; Cramer, Todd; Johnson, Paul; and Contat, Bradley (2026) "Examining Alternative Principal Licensure in Ohio: How Licensure Pathway and Poverty Level Explain Variance in Student Performance," Mid-Western Educational Researcher: Vol. 38: Iss. 1, Article 17.
Available at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/mwer/vol38/iss1/17