Mediating effects of school process on the relationship between principals’ data-informed decision-making and student achievement

We examined the path of influence from principals’ data-informed decision-making to school process and then to student achievement, by adopting the model of ‘mediated-effects with antecedent effects’. With samples of principals and teachers from Michigan, we used two different approaches to measure principals’ engagement in data-informed decision-making. Results of structural equation modelling revealed that teachers are in a better position than principals to (a) provide measures of principals’ engagement in data-informed decision-making because teacher measures of this leadership of principals accurately predicted almost all aspects of school process and (b) predict the indirect effects of principal leadership on student achievement via school process (or the direct effects of school process on student achievement). Policy implications were discussed such as the best source for measuring principals’ data-informed decision-making, and the path of influence from principals’ leadership to school process and to student achievement.