Dr. Roger Breed

Purpose. The purpose in this study was the determination of the degree of concurrent validity between performance on two procedures used in the selection of school administrators. The two procedures used were a structured interview, the Administrator Perceiver Interview (API) developed by Selection Research, Incorporated, and an assessment center developed by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP). Procedures. Administrator selection literature as well as available research on selection criteria and selection procedures was reviewed. Two sets of scores (one from the API and one from the NASSP Assessment Center) were gathered on a sample group (n = 19). The sample group was composed of educators from one assessment center project (University of Nebraska-Lincoln). Correlation coefficients were computed between the two sets of scores. Inferential statistics were used to determine the extent of concurrent validity. Concurrent validity was indicated by the degree to which performance on the API agreed with performance on the NASSP Assessment Center. Findings. The correlation coefficients between API total scores and NASSP Assessment Center skill dimension scores were non-significant and near zero. Only six of 156 possible correlation coefficients between API theme scores and NASSP Assessment Center skill dimension scores were significant. Of these, only the API theme Group Enhancer and the NASSP Assessment Center skill dimension Leadership purported to measure similar information and had a significant and positive correlation (r = +0.47). Although findings were limited by the small sample size, concurrent validity between performance on the Administrator Perceiver Interview and performance in the NASSP Assessment Center was not supported. Conclusions. Based on the literature, both the Administrator Perceiver Interview and the NASSP Assessment Center represent acceptable procedures for use in the selection of school administrators. The interchangeability of all or parts of the API and the NASSP Assessment Center, however, was not supported in the findings of this study. Overall, for the sample group, performance on the API seemed to provide different information concerning a candidate's potential for school administration than did the NASSP Assessment Center.