This article describes how the assessment center has enhanced the service and training facilities of the University of Utah and suggests ways in which universities can make significant contributions to the assessment center through research. (TE)

Although scholars have developed and applied various explicit conceptualizations of leadership to the study of educational administration, far less attention has been given to implicit or informal conceptions of leadership. Some recent studies claim that leadership impact on organizational performance is minimal or illusory; others argue that more…

Describes how an elementary school coped with its principal's impending departure and extends R. Gephart's grounded theory of leader succession--that faculty collectively degrade the departing principal's status. This study finds individual degradation attitudes prevalent among teachers lacking meaningful contact with the departing principal.…

A sample of elementary and high schools was investigated to determine principals' influence on student achievement test scores. Analysis of variance estimated principals' effects while controlling for environmental and organizational factors. Findings indicate that principals exert a small but important influence on school performance. (TE)