2.2 Student achievements (Dependent Variable)

Student achievement is the one that we want to know whether it can influence by leadership style or not. Researcher will discuss definition of student achievement and other than that; The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act was instituted to increase achievement for all students. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, 62% and eighth grade students in American schools scored at the basic level on math assessments and 65% and eighth grade students scored at the basic level on reading assessments (Hanushek, Peterson, & Woessman, 2011;Peterson, Woessman, Hanushek, & Lastra-Anadon, 2011). So school organizations and leadership programs find approaches to raise achievement for all students. One way to increase academic achievement is to improve school leadership. Successful leaders plan for systemic change and facilitate effective teaching and learning in the organization (Hallinger, 2011). However, there is a substantial shortage of qualified and competent educational leaders in schools throughout the nation (Maulding et al., 2010).

 “Outstanding leadership has invariably emerged as a key characteristic of outstanding schools” (Beare, Caldwell, and Milliken, 1989,p. 13). “Effective leadership is a multifaceted process that is often defined through both subjective and objective measures of leader behavior and its effect on organizational processes and outcomes” (Davis, 1998,p. 59). A study exploring the relationship between leadership and student achievement for the years 1980 through 1995. Their results showed leaders have an indirect, but measurable, effect on how well students’ achieve in their schools. The greatest influence the organizations of the school develop and implementation of a clear vision, mission and goals (Hallinger and Heck, 1998). According to Eberts and Stone (1988) determined that a principal’s effect on student achievement results from their interactions with teachers. The interactions include identifying clear objectives, spending time in classrooms, providing support and guidance as well as rewards and incentives.

Teachers who are more committed to organization and members are more likely to adopt instructional practices recommended by the organization to achieve organizational goals. Such commitment would contribute to higher student achievement (Koh et al., 1995; Park, 2004).Student achievement are commonly used indicators in educational research (Smythe & Hess, 2005) but on this study researcher will look into their grades. the barriers to improved teacher quality and student achievement are lack of incentives to teach, lack of respect for the profession, and a lack of comprehensive strategies (Dozier and Bertrotti, 2000).