ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates that such variables do in fact correlate only weakly with academic improvement. The chapter presents an analysis will be based on rank-order correlations between the ranking of the schools on these other predictor variables and on the objective ranking prepared by Messrs. Bradburn and Treiman. In a good number of schools, the faculty felt that the administration should permit them to be responsible for promoting academic development. The accuracy of such student perception might explain the extremely high rank-order correlation obtained by student interviewer. However this may be, the evaluation of the competence and independence of the administrative leadership of higher educational institutions is clearly a much stronger predictor of academic improvement than are institutional or environmental variables. The chapter concludes with the difference between the improving schools and non-improving schools is largely determined by the competence and independence of the presidents.
