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A s tu d y to d eterm in e th e relationship betw een certain
n o rm a tiv e d a t a a n d a d m in istra tiv e know ledge as m e a s u re d by
th e W ritte n M ichigan V ocational A d m in istrativ e E x a m in a tio n

Pratt, William L., Ph.D.
Michigan State University, 1989

UMI

300 N. Zeeb Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48106

A STUDY TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CERTAIN
NORMATIVE DATA AND ADMINISTRATIVE KNOWLEDGE AS
MEASURED BY THE WRITTEN MICHIGAN VOCATIONAL
ADMINISTRATIVE EXAMINATION

By
W il li am L. P r a t t

A DISSERTATION

S ub m it te d t o
Michigan S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y
in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s
f o r th e degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

C o l l e g e o f Ed u ca tio n

1989

ABSTRACT

A STUDY TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CERTAIN
NORMATIVE DATA AND ADMINISTRATIVE KNOWLEDGE AS
MEASURED BY THE WRITTEN MICHIGAN VOCATIONAL
ADMINISTRATIVE EXAMINATION
By
W il li am L. P r a t t

The w r i t e r ’ s p u rp o s e in c o n d u c t i n g t h i s

s t u d y was t o d e t e r m i n e

t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e W r i t t e n Michigan
V o c a ti o n a l A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Exa min ation
level,

teaching

experience,

the

U niversity,
Candidates’

adm inistrative

ad m in istrativ e experience,

The p o p u l a t i o n
entering

certificatio n ,

(WMVAE) and t h e i r e d u c a t i o n a l

com pri se d
L eadership

Big

Rapids,

responses

on

63 c a n d i d a t e s

and o c c u p a t i o n a l
who t o o k

the

Program

at

Development
M ichigan,
the

c o ur s ew or k ,

in

1986,

Demographic

experience.
WMVAE b e f o r e

F erris

1987,

Profile

teaching

Form

and

S tate
1988.

and

their

were

used.

s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE were compared.
D escriptive

as

w ell

as

in fere n tia l

statistics

M u l t i p l e r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s and s t e p w i s e r e g r e s s i o n t e c h n i q u e s were
employed.

P o p u l a t i o n s t a t i s t i c s were used t o d e s c r i b e t h e examinees

by e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l , t e a c h e r c e r t i f i c a t i o n ,

and c o u r s e w o r k , a s well

as t e a c h i n g , a d m i n i s t r a t i v e , and o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .

Frequency

d i s t r i b u t i o n s were g i v e n f o r c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on each o f t h e n i n e

Wi lli am L. P r a t t
WMVAE s u b t e s t s as well
the

six

normative

as t h e i r a g g r e g a t e WMVAE s c o r e s f o r each o f

characteristics

selected.

The

subtests

were

Program P l a n n i n g , Development, and E v a l u a t i o n ; I n s t r u c t i o n a l Manage­
ment;

Personnel

Management;

F acilities

and

Equipment

Management;

S t u d e n t S e r v i c e s ; S t a f f Development; P r o f e s s i o n a l R e l a t i o n s ; S c h o o l /
Community R e l a t i o n s ; and B u s in e s s and F i n a n c i a l Management.
C o rrelatio n
independent
m o de ra te

and

levels,

tech n iq u es
dependent

the

lev el.

The h i g h e s t

association
experience

variables

according

None o f

to

relationships

was
and

the

were a t

correlatio n

between
the

revealed

the

asso ciatio n s

at

the

co efficien t

variable

low,

by Davis

substantial

in d e p e n d e n t

d ep en d e n t

negligible,

range devised
the

between

variable

candidates’

the

and

(1 9 71 ).

or very

was

the

strong

m oderate

adm inistrative
scores

on

the

S t a f f Development s u b t e s t o f t h e WMVAE.
No s t a t i s t i c a l l y
lev el)

was

found

significant

between

the

a g g r e g a t e s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE.

relationship
norm ative

Therefore,

data

(at

the

and

.05

alpha

candidates’

the s t a t i s t i c a l

results

i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e n o r m a t i v e d a t a s e l e c t e d were n o t good p r e d i c t o r s
o f c a n d i d a t e s ’ WMVAE s c o r e s .

This d i s s e r t a t i o n is d ed ic a te d to th e l a t e

Dr. Bruce J . Dunn,
my me n to r and b e s t f r i e n d .

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My ac co mp li shm ent s

at

Michigan

State

U niversity

these

past

s e v e r a l y e a r s a r e in l a r g e p a r t due t o t h e s u p p o r t and g u i d a n c e o f
f a c u l t y , f a m i l y , and c o l l e a g u e s .

I s in c e re ly app rec iate the e f f o r t s

o f t h e s e i n d i v i d u a l s and want t o r e c o g n i z e and t h a n k them f o r t h e i r
en co u ra g em en t, u n d e r s t a n d i n g , and a s s i s t a n c e .
I e s p e c i a l l y want t o t h a n k my ma jor p r o f e s s o r , com mittee c h a i r ,
and f r i e n d ,

Dr. George F e r n s ,

f o r h i s g u i d a n c e and c o u n s e l .

a l s o t o Drs. C h a r l e s Blackman, Samuel Moore I I ,
of

the

dissertation

co m m it te e ,

for

their

Thanks

and Rex Ray, members

academic

suggestions,

comments, and d e d i c a t e d a s s i s t a n c e .
I would a l s o l i k e t o e x t e n d my t h a n k s t o Drs.
Jack

E llio t.

statistical

T heir

co untless

hours

of

K i t t y Manley and

assistan ce

w ith

the

a n a l y s i s and p r o o f r e a d i n g were o u t o f d e d i c a t i o n t o t h e

f i e l d o f v o c a t i o n a l - t e c h n i c a l e d u c a t i o n and t o a s s i s t a f r i e n d .
Thanks go t o my f r i e n d s and c o l l e a g u e s a t T u s c o l a I n t e r m e d i a t e
School D i s t r i c t ,
of typing,
Sincere

e s p e c i a l l y t o J e a n n e Magiera f o r h e r e n d l e s s hours

critiquing,

appreciation

and many y e a r s
is

extended

to

of service
Susan

e d i t i n g and t y p i n g o f t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n .

to

Cooley

this
for

project.
the

final

Her f i n a l t o u c h e s made t h e

difference.
Many ho ur s were s p e n t s t u d y i n g and w r i t i n g w h i l e my s o n , Shane,
entertained

him self.

His

m aturity

appreciated.

v

and

understanding

are

deeply

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF T A B L E S ......................................................................................................

ix

Chapter
I.

II.

III.

THE PROBLEM.............................................................................................

1

Introduction
...................................................................................
The L e a d e r s h i p Development Program and t h e
W r i t t e n Michigan V o c a t i o n a l A d m i n i s t r a t i v e
Exa mination ...............................................................................
S t a t e m e n t o f t h e Problem ........................................................
Purpose .................................................................................................
Impo rt anc e o f t h e S t u d y .............................................................
R es ear ch Q u e s t i o n s
......................................................................
Hyp otheses
........................................................................................
R es ear ch Methodology .................................................................
Assumptions ........................................................................................
L i m i t a t i o n s ........................................................................................
D e f i n i t i o n s o f Terms .................................................................
Summary and O v e r v i e w .................................................................

1
4
5
7
7
8
8
9
9
10
10
12

REVIEW OF LITERATURE......................................................................

14

Introduction
....................................................................................
H i s t o r i c a l Development o f O cc u p at io n al Competency
T e s t i n g .............................................................................................
I d e n t i f i c a t i o n and V e r i f i c a t i o n o f A d m i n i s t r a t i v e
Competencies
...............................................................................
I d e n t i f i c a t i o n and V e r i f i c a t i o n o f V o c a ti o n a l
A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Competencies ...............................................
A dm inistrative C redentialing
..............................................
A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Exam ina ti ons ...................................................
C o r r e l a t i o n o f Normative Data and O c c u p a t io n a l
K n o w l e d g e ........................................................................................
S u m m a r y ..................................................................................................

14
14
18
21
25
32
36
39

DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY.................................................................

41

Introduction
....................................................................................
S u b j e c t s .............................................................................................

41
41

vi

Page

IV.

D a t a - C o l l e c t i o n P r o c e d u r e s and I n s t r u m e n t s
. . . .
The Demographic P r o f i l e F o r m ..........................................
The W r i t t e n Michigan V o c a t i o n a l A d m i n i s t r a t i v e
Ex am ina ti on (WMVAE) .............................................................
Re sea rc h Q u e s t i o n s
......................................................................
H y p o t h e s e s .........................................................................................
In de p e n d e n t V a r i a b l e s .................................................................
Dependent V a r i a b l e
......................................................................
D a t a - A n a l y s i s Te c h ni q ue s
........................................................
S u m m a r y ..................................................................................................

42
42

RESULTS OF THE DATA A N A L Y S I S ...................................................

49

....................................................................................
Introduction
Normative D a t a ...............................................................................
E d u c a t i o n a l Level ......................................................................
V o c a t i o n a l A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Coursework ........................
T e a c h e r C e r t i f i c a t i o n . ........................................................
Teach ing E x p e r i e n c e .................................................................
A d m i n i s t r a t i v e E x p e r i e n c e ...................................................
O c c u p a t i o n a l E x p e r i e n c e ........................................................
C a n d i d a t e s ’ S c o r e s on t h e WMVAE ..........................................
Program P l a n n i n g , Development, and E v a l u a t i o n
S u b t e s t .........................................................................................
I n s t r u c t i o n a l Management S u b t e s t
.................................
Per so n ne l Management S u b t e s t
..........................................
F a c i l i t i e s and Equipment Management S u b t e s t . . .
Student S ervices S u b test
...................................................
S t a f f Development S u b t e s t ...................................................
Professional Relations Subtest
......................................
School/Community R e l a t i o n s S u b t e s t
............................
B u s in e s s and F i n a n c i a l Management S u b t e s t . . . .
A g g re ga te WMVAE S c o r e s
........................................................
C o r r e l a t i o n o f Normative Data and WMVAE S c o r e s
. .
Program P l a n n i n g , Development, and E v a l u a t i o n
S u b t e s t .........................................................................................
I n s t r u c t i o n a l Management S u b t e s t
.................................
P e rs o n n e l Management S u b t e s t
..........................................
F a c i l i t i e s and Equipment Management S u b t e s t . . .
Student S ervice s S u b test
...................................................
S t a f f Development S u b t e s t ...................................................
P r o f e s s i o n a l R e l a t i o n s S u b t e s t ......................................
School/Community R e l a t i o n s S u b t e s t
............................
B u s i n e s s and F i n a n c i a l Management S u b t e s t . . . .
A g gr eg at e WMVAE S c o r e s
........................................................
R e s u l t s o f t h e S t e p w is e M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n
A n a l y s i s .........................................................................................
Program P l a n n i n g , Development, and E v a l u a t i o n
S u b t e s t .........................................................................................

vi i

43
45
46
47
47
47
48

49
50
50
51
51
52
53
53
54
54
54
55
56
57
57
58
59
59
61
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73

Page
I n s t r u c t i o n a l Management S u b t e s t .................................
Student S erv ice s S u b te s t
....................................................
S t a f f Development S u b t e s t ....................................................
............................
School/Community R e l a t i o n s S u b t e s t
R e s u l t s o f H y p o t h e s i s T e s t i n g ...............................................
S u m m a r y ..................................................................................................
V.

73
74
75
75
76
80

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..............................

81

S u m m a r y ..................................................................................................
P r o c e d u r e s ....................................................................................
F i n d i n g s .........................................................................................
C o n c l u s i o n s .........................................................................................
Recommendations ...............................................................................
R e f l e c t i o n s .........................................................................................

80
82
83
86
93
94

TASKS PERCEIVED BY MICHIGAN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
ADMINISTRATORS TO BE "ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY" FOR
FIRST-YEAR VOCATIONAL ADMINISTRATORS .................................

96

APPENDICES
A.

B.

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE F O R M ..................................................................

102

C.

PERMISSION LETTER FROM THE UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE ON
RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS ................................................

105

REFERENCES.....................................................................................................................

106

viii

LIST OF TABLES
Table

Page

4.1

D istribution

o f C a n d i d a t e s by E d u c a t i o n a l Level

. . .

4.2

D i s t r i b u t i o n o f C a n d i d a t e s by V o c a t i o n a l Adminis­
t r a t i v e C o u r s e w o r k ...........................................................................

51
51

4.3

D istribution

o f C a n d i d a t e s by T e a c h e r C e r t i f i c a t i o n

4.4

D istribution

o f C a n d i d a t e s by Te ac hin g E x p e r i e n c e

4.5

D i s t r i b u t i o n o f C a n d i d a t e s by A d m i n i s t r a t i v e
E x p e r i e n c e .............................................................................................

53

D i s t r i b u t i o n o f C a n d i d a t e s by O c c u p a t io n a l
E x p e r i e n c e .............................................................................................

54

C a n d i d a t e s ’ S c o r e s on t h e Program P l a n n i n g , D eve lop ­
ment, and E v a l u a t i o n S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 1)

55

C a n d i d a t e s ’ S c o r e s on t h e I n s t r u c t i o n a l Management
S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 2) ......................................................................

55

C a n d i d a t e s ’ S c o r e s on t h e P er s on ne l Management
S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 3) ......................................................................

56

C a n d i d a t e s ’ S co re s on t h e F a c i l i t i e s and Equipment
Management S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 4)

57

C a n d i d a t e s ’ S c o r e s on t h e S t u d e n t S e r v i c e s S u b t e s t
( C a t e g o r y 5 ) .........................................................................................

58

C a n d i d a t e s ’ S c o re s on t h e S t a f f Development S u b t e s t
( C a t e g o r y 6 ) .........................................................................................

58

C a n d i d a t e s ’ S c o r e s on t h e P r o f e s s i o n a l R e l a t i o n s
S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 7) ......................................................................

59

C a n d i d a t e s ’ S c o r e s on t h e School/Community
R e l a t i o n s S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 8) ...............................................

60

C a n d i d a t e s ’ S c o r e s on t h e B u s i n e s s and F i n a n c i a l
Management S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 9)

60

4.6
4.7

4.8

4.9

4.10
4.11

4.12

4.13

4.14
4.15

ix

.

.

52

.

52

Page
4 .1 6

C a n d i d a t e s ’ A g g re g at e S c o r e s on t h e WMVAE

4 .1 7

M u ltip le C o r r e la tio n C o e f f ic ie n t Matrix

4.18

4 .1 9

4 .2 0

4.21

4. 22

4. 23

4 .2 4

4.25

4.26

4 .2 7

4.28

......................

61

...........................

62

R e s u l t s o f M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s Between
I n d e p e n d e n t V a r i a b l e s and S c o r e s on t h e Program
P l a n n i n g , Development, and E v a l u a t i o n S u b t e s t
( C a t e g o r y 1 ) .........................................................................................

63

R e s u l t s o f M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s Between
I n d e p e n d e n t V a r i a b l e s and S c o r e s on t h e I n s t r u c ­
t i o n a l Management S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 2) ............................

64

R e s u l t s o f M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s Between
I n d e p e n d e n t V a r i a b l e s and S c o r e s on t h e Pe rs o nn el
Management S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 3 ) .......................

65

R e s u l t s o f M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s Between
I n d e p e n d e n t V a r i a b l e s and S co re s on t h e F a c i l i t i e s
and Equipment Management S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 4)
. . .

66

R e s u l t s o f M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s Between
I n d e p e n d e n t V a r i a b l e s and S c o re s on t h e S t u d e n t
S e r v i c e s S u b t e s t ( C at eg o r y 5)

67

R e s u l t s o f M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s Between
In d e p e n d e n t V a r i a b l e s and S c o re s on t h e S t a f f
Development S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 6) ..........................................

68

R e s u l t s o f M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s Between
I n d e p e n d e n t V a r i a b l e s and S c o r e s on t h e P r o f e s ­
s i o n a l R e l a t i o n s S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 7)

69

R e s u l t s o f M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s Between
I n d e p e n d e n t V a r i a b l e s and S c o r e s on t h e S c h o o l /
Community R e l a t i o n s S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o ry 8) ........................

70

R e s u l t s o f M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s Between
I n d e p e n d e n t V a r i a b l e s and S c o r e s on t h e B u s in e s s
and F i n a n c i a l Management S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 9)
. . .

71

R e s u l t s o f M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s Between
I n d e p e n d e n t V a r i a b l e s and A g g r e g a te S c o r e s on t h e
WMVAE.......................................................................................................

72

R e s u l t s o f S t e p w is e M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s
Between I n d e p e n d e n t V a r i a b l e s and S c o r e s on t h e
Program P l a n n i n g , Development, and E v a l u a t i o n
S u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 1) ......................................................................

73

x

Page
4.29

4.30

4.31

4.32

R e s u l t s o f S t e p w is e M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s
Between I n de pe nd e nt V a r i a b l e s and S c o r e s on t h e
I n s t r u c t i o n a l Management S u b t e s t (C at eg o r y 2)
. . .

74

R e s u l t s o f S t e p w is e M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s
Between I n de pe n de nt V a r i a b l e s and S co re s on t h e
S t u d e n t S e r v i c e s S u b t e s t (C at eg o ry 5)

74

R e s u l t s o f S t e p w is e M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s
Between I n de pe nd e nt V a r i a b l e s and S c o r e s on t h e
S t a f f Development S u b t e s t (C at eg o r y 6) ............................

75

R e s u l t s o f S t e p w is e M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s
Between I n de pe nd e nt V a r i a b l e s and S co re s on t h e
School/Community R e l a t i o n s S u b t e s t (C at eg o r y 8)

76

r

xi

. .

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
Introduction
C e r t i f i c a t i o n o f school a d m i n i s t r a t o r s i s o f i n c r e a s i n g c o n ce r n
in t h e f i e l d o f e d u c a t i o n .

The N a t i o n a l Commission on E x c e l l e n c e in

E ducational A d m in istra tio n

(1987),

s p o n s o r e d by t h e U n i v e r s i t y

Council f o r E d u c a t i o n a l

A dm inistration,

educational

in

leadership

t h e U n it e d

found in i t s

States

systems presumed t o promote e x c e l l e n c e .
Co m m is s io n

strongly

advocates

a

a

lack

examination of
of

licensure

Among o t h e r c r i t e r i a ,

rig o ro u s

w ritten

the

and

oral

e x a m in a t io n f o r t h o s e s e e k i n g school a d m i n i s t r a t i v e p o s i t i o n s .
With t h e r e c e n t emphasis on e x c e l l e n c e in e d u c a t i o n , t h e r e i s a
t r e n d toward competency t e s t i n g
s t u d e n t s and t e a c h e r s .
o r both p r e v a i l ,

it

for adm inistrators,

Whether competency t e s t i n g ,

as well

as

for

certificatio n ,

i s im portant to determine the t r a i n i n g ,

experi­

e n c e , and d e g r e e ( s ) n e c e s s a r y f o r co m pet ent a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .
In t h e i r p a p e r e n t i t l e d "Where Are We and Where Are We Going in
School

A dm inistrator

L oP resti,

and

regarding

the

Jones

ad m in istrato rs.
constituencies

Preparation

the

(1986) i n d i c a t e d

issue

of

In

th eir

(state

in

preparation
first

U n ite d
some
and

national

certificatio n

officials,

1

S tates?"
ongoing

Gousha,
concerns

certificatio n
survey
o fficials

of
of

of

th ree
large

2
public

school

d i s t r i c t s , and d i r e c t o r s

education t h a t
M ichigan

was

have d o c t o r a l
the

only

programs

sta te that

requirements f o r a d m in is tra to rs .
July

1,

1988)

requires

at

in stitutions

in t h e

did

not

of

higher

field

of education),

have

certificatio n

Although P u b l i c Act 163 ( e f f e c t i v e

th a t adm inistrators

in

Michigan

public

s c h o o l s a t t a i n c e r t i f i c a t i o n as school a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , many c o n c e r n s
must s t i l l

be a d d r e s s e d ( a s e v i d e n c e d by t h e h e a r i n g s ) r e g a r d i n g t h e

developm ent
certification

and

m aintenance

ad m in istrato r

school

in

adm inistrators,

the

certification

and

o f t h e 38 s t a t e s in t h e i r s t u d y t h a t
16 had c o m p e t e n c i e s t o be met

c e r t i f i c a t i o n and 2 were c o n s i d e r i n g c o m p e t e n c i e s .
states

prep aratio n

(Michigan Department o f E d u c a t i o n , 19 88 ).

Gousha e t a l . found t h a t ,
certified

of

survey

process.

used e x a m in a tio n s
Of

3 used t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n

the

11

states

and s u p e r v i s i o n

as

Furthermore,
part

requiring
section

for

of

11

th ei r

exam ination,

of the

National

T e a c h e r s Exa mination b a t t e r y ; t h e o t h e r 8 used some form o f l o c a l l y
developed examination.
The M i c h i g a n

In stitu te

for

E ducational

M an ag em en t

(MIEM)

Asse ss men t C e n t e r i s a program f o r p r o s p e c t i v e sch oo l p r i n c i p a l s and
a s s i s t a n t p r i n c i p a l s and r e p r e s e n t s a s i g n i f i c a n t e f f o r t on t h e p a r t
o f school

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s t o become s e l f - p o l i c i n g .

Center personnel

d i a g n o s e i n d i v i d u a l c a n d i d a t e s ’ s t r e n g t h s and w ea k ne s s es in 12 s k i l 1
d im e n s io n s
p rincipal.
d istricts
general

identified
The
and i s

education

as

necessary

Assessment

for

Center

is

effective
available

performance
to

used by MIEM t o d e t e r m i n e e n t r y - l e v e l
adm inistrators

(MIEM,

19 8 5) .

all

as

sch oo l

sk ills

However,

a

in

for
two

3

areas

of

education,

special

education

and

vocational

education,

c e r t a i n a d m i n i s t r a t o r s may need s p e c i a l s k i l l s .
The q u a l i f i c a t i o n s
shared-tim e

directors

planning d i s t r i c t
program

of

for d irecto rs
vocational

of vocational

education,

(CEPD) v o c a t i o n a l - t e c h n i c a l

im pl em en te rs

V ocational-Technical

are

stated

E du ca ti on

in
in

the

education,

career

specialists,

A dm inistrative

Michigan

education

1987

and a r e a
Guide

(Michigan

for
State

tBoard o f E d u c a t i o n , 1987) as f o l l o w s :
A.

Ed u ca ti o n
S econdary v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s s h a l l be g r a d u a t e s o f
an approved and a c c r e d i t e d c o l l e g e o r u n i v e r s i t y w i t h a t
l e a s t a M a s t e r ’ s Degree and s h a l l have completed v o c a t i o n a l
e d u c a t i o n p r e p a r a t i o n in t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , s u p e r v i s i o n ,
and o r g a n i z a t i o n o f v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n pr ograms.
Experience
S e c o n d a r y v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s s h a l l h a v e had a
minimum o f t h r e e y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n c e in a d m i n i s t r a t i o n an d /
o r t e a c h i n g in v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n pr ograms.
Other Conditions
I f a c a n d i d a t e does no t meet t h e above r e f e r e n c e d q u a l i f i ­
c a t i o n s , an e v a l u a t i o n o f competency w i l l be made by t h e
Michigan Department o f Educ atio n based upon t h e combined
e d u c a t i o n and e x p e r i e n c e o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l , (pp. 251-52)

B.

C.

The

M ichigan

Technical

Education

responsibility
assume
Rule

a
1

(3)

D epartm ent

to

S ervice

"determine

state-reim bursable
of

the

Mi c h i g a n

of

Education

(V-TES), i s
adequacy"
vocational

(MDE),

V ocational-

entrusted

of candidates

w ith
who want

adm inistrative

A d m inistrative

Rules

the
to

position.

R elating

to

E d u c a ti o n ( L e g i s l a t i v e S e r v i c e Bureau, 1982a) s t a t e s :
R 395.231
Local a d m i n i s t r a t o r s
Rule 1. (3)
Local a d m i n i s t r a t o r s s h a l l have t h e f o l l o w i n g
qualifications:
a. They s h a l l
be g r a d u a t e s o f a r e c o g n i z e d c o l l e g e
or
u n i v e r s i t y w i t h a m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e and s h a l 1 h a v e
com pleted
vocational
education
courses
in
the

4
ad m inistration,
su p ervision,
and o r g a n i z a t i o n
of
v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n p ro g ra m s .
They s h a l l h ol d o r be
e l i g i b l e t o h o ld a v a l i d Michigan t e a c h e r s ’ c e r t i f i c a t e .
They s h a l l have had a t l e a s t t h r e e y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n c e
in a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d / o r t e a c h i n g in v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a ­
t i o n prog ram s.
They s h a l l have had a t l e a s t two y e a r s
o f occupational experien ce, o th e r than te ach in g or edu­
cational adm inistration.
In t h e c a s e o f t r a d e and
i n d u s t r y s u p e r v i s o r s , t h e y s h a l l have had t h r e e y e a r s o f
occupational ex p erience, o th e r than te a c h in g or educa­
tional adm inistration.
Under c e r t a i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s , i f a c a n d i d a t e does no t
f u l l y q u a l i f y , a competency e x a m i n a t i o n may be a r r a n g e d .
The s t a t e board o f e d u c a t i o n . . . w i l l d e t e r m i n e t h e
adequacy o f h i s combined e d u c a t i o n and e x p e r i e n c e as
e q u i v a l e n t t o t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s s e t f o r t h in s u b d i v i s i o n s
(a) and (b) o f t h i s s u b r u l e . (p. 261)

b.

c.

Thus, a c c o r d i n g t o Rule 1 ( 3 ) ( c ) , t h e p u r p o s e o f a competency exa m i­
n a t i o n i s t o " d e te r m in e t h e adequacy" o f t h o s e a p p l i c a n t s who do no t
meet t h e minimum c r i t e r i a .
The L e a d e r s h i p Development Program and
t h e W r i t t e n Michigan V oc a ti o n a l
A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Examination
The MDE/V-TES has s u p p o r t e d i n - s e r v i c e programs f o r v o c a t i o n a l technical adm inistrators.
leadership
d istricts

training

As w e l l , t h e MDE has s u p p o r t e d v o c a t i o n a l

th r o u g h

and community c o l l e g e s .

t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Mich ig an,
S tate

U n iv ersity --h av e

develop

and

adm inistrators.
deve lop men t
eventual

r e im b u r s e m e n t s

and

Public

Michigan

validation

of

have
a

State

state

train in g
fund s

sponsoring

Three u n i v e r s i t i e s

received

im plem ent

to

programs
also

in M i c h i g a n --

U niversity,

and/or

been

"competency

and

federal
for

Ferris

funds

to

vocational

expended

for

the

examination"

for

the

p u r p os e o f h e l p i n g d e c i s i o n makers d e t e r m i n e t h e

of adm inistrative applicants.

school

adequacy

5
F e r r i s S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y was awarded a g r a n t 'in 1985 t o c o n t i n u e
t h e v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r t r a i n i n g program t h a t had i t s b e g i n n i n g
at

the

U n iv ersity

U niversity.

This

of

M ichigan

program

is

and

la ter

frequently

L e a d e r s h i p Development Program (LDP).
also to

be used

at

referred

to

Funds from t h i s

in d e v e l o p i n g and v a l i d a t i n g

a d m in is tr a t iv e exam ination.

M ichigan

That e x a m i n a t i o n ,

a w ritten

S tate
as

the

grant

were

vocational

t h e W r i t t e n Michigan

V o c a t i o n a l A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Examination (WMVAE), was based on t h e 166
c o m p e te n c ie s
Vocational

identified

by r e s e a r c h e r s

at

the

National

Center

for

E d u c a ti o n (N o r to n , Ross, G a r c i a , & H o b a r t , 1977) and t h e

67 c o m p e te n c ie s d e t e r m i n e d t o be " a b s o l u t e l y needed"
vocational

adm inistrators

Appendix A).
Leadership

in

Michigan

(Moore

by f i r s t - y e a r

& Ray,

1985)

(see

The exam i s a d m i n i s t e r e d t o p a r t i c i p a n t s e n t e r i n g t h e
Development

Program.

(Development

of

the

WMVAE

is

d i s c u s s e d more f u l l y in C h a p t e r I I I . )
S t a t e m e n t o f t h e Problem
To d a t e ,
level

th at

little
has

ch aracteristics

research
indicated

this

area

domain.

In

has

been

the

been

Mic hi gan ,

and t h e i r

The r e s e a r c h t h a t

outside
no

conducted

of

at

rela tio n sh ip

of ad m inistrators

a d m in is tra tiv e examinations.
in

has

the

research

been

scores

coursew ork,

teaching

Rules

experience,

Relating

the

on w r i t t e n

has been c o n d u c t e d
adm inistration

undertaken

r e l a t i o n s h i p between s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE and t h e c r i t e r i a
in t h e Michigan A d m i n i s t r a t i v e

national

between

educational

has

the

to

teaching

on

the

specified

Education,

i.e.,

certific ate,

6
ad m in istrativ e

experience,

level

of

education,

and

years

of

occupational experience.
How much o c c u p a t i o n a l
optim al

experience

adm inistrative

com petence?

experience

(i.e .,

electronics)

experience

(i.e .,

English)?

optim al

entry-level

relationship
As

these

inconsistencies
eventual

may

no t

exist

in

than

education

is

Department c r i t e r i a
been

addressed

the

selection,
for

unnecessary

in

and

teaching

nonvocational

com petency?

requirem ents

Consequently,

f o r minimal

vocational

important

How much

State

have

certificatio n

adm inistrators.

more

required
Is

adm inistrative

between t h e

questions

is

required

for

What

the

is

and t h e WMVAE?
the

literature,

r e im b u r se m e n t ,

M ichigan
parallel

and

vocational
train in g

and

c e r t i f i c a t i o n p r o c e s s e s may c o n t i n u e t o e x i s t in Michigan.
Because

of

th is

lack

constantly

challenge

the

vocational

adm inistrators.

of

research-based

existing

r ei m bur se me nt

been

conducted

c o n v e r s a t i o n , 19 8 9) .
aw ar en es s

of

has

individuals

requirements

The Michigan V-TES has l i t t l e

w i t h which t o s u p p o r t t h e s u g g e s t e d c r i t e r i a ,
has

data,

had

many

for

research

and t h e r e s e a r c h t h a t

lim itatio n s

(R u d e ,

personal

As a r e s u l t o f t h e p r e s e n t s t u d y , t h e l e v e l o f

individuals

responsible

and r e im b u r se m e n t o f v o c a t i o n a l

for

the

adm inistrators

selection,
could

training,

be r a i s e d

so

t h a t t h e y may o b j e c t i v e l y e s t a b l i s h r e q u i r e m e n t s t h a t a r e based on
r e l e v a n t c r i t e r i a r a t h e r t h a n on o p i n i o n o r t r a d i t i o n .

7
Purpose
The

researcher’s

purpose

in

conducting

this

study

was

a d d r e s s t h e a b o v e - s t a t e d problem by d e t e r m i n i n g t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p ,
any,

between c e r t a i n

normative d ata

to
if

and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s ’ knowledge,

as measured by t h e i r s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE.

Imp or ta nce o f t h e Study
Re s ou rc es
c o m p e te n c ie s
also

are

necessary

availab le

com petency

w ith

w it h

for

school

which

to

exam inations.

le g islato rs,

and

adm in istrativ e
because

available

the

others

which

to

adm inistrators.

develop

p ositio ns.

asked

boards

to

T herefore,

w riter

sought

to

determ ine

can d id ates’ re su lts

on t h e

WMVAE a r e

centers

and

education,

criteria

study

the

verify
are

of

estab lish
th is

and

R es o u r ce s

assessm ent

E ducators,
are

identify

is

im portant

extent

co rrelated

for

to

w ith

which

certain

q u a l i f i c a t i o n s s t a t e d in t h e Michigan A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Rule s R e l a t i n g
t o E d u c a t i o n . Rule 1 (3)
example,
better

do

candidates

( L e g i s l a t i v e S e r v i c e Bureau,
w it h

occupational

work

on t h e e x a m i n a t i o n t h a n t h o s e w i t h o u t

1982a).

experience

pe r f or m

such e x p e r i e n c e ?

c a n d i d a t e s w it h t e a c h e r c e r t i f i c a t i o n do b e t t e r

For

Do

than th o se w ithout

certification?
Although

the

assessm ent c e n t e r s ,
of

d eterm in atio n ,

researcher

did

not

competency l i s t s ,
he

did

examine

address

the

examinations,
the

v alid ity

of

o r o t h e r means

relatio n sh ip

between

e x a m i n a t i o n r e s u l t s and s u g g e s t e d c r i t e r i a f o r t h e r e im b u r s e m e n t o f
vocational ad m in is tra to rs.

8
Research Q u e s ti o n s
The f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s were a d d r e s s e d in t h i s s t u d y :
1.

I s t h e r e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between a

c a n d i d a t e ’ s e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?
2.

I s t h e r e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between a

candidate’s
vision,

graduate-level

cours ew ork

and o r g a n i z a t i o n o f v o c a t i o n a l

in

adm inistration,

super­

e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s /

h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?
3.

I s t h e r e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between a

c a n d i d a t e ’ s t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t i o n and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?
4.

Is t h e r e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between a

c a n d i d a t e ’ s v o c a t i o n a l t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?
5.

I s t h e r e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between a

c a n d id a te ’ s vocational

a d m in istra tiv e experience

and h i s / h e r

WMVAE

scores?
6.

I s t h e r e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between a

c a n d i d a t e ’ s o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?
Hypotheses
The f o l l o w i n g h y p o t h e s e s ,

s t a t e d in t h e n u l l

form, were fo r m u ­

l a t e d t o g u i d e t h e a n a l y s i s o f d a t a c o l l e c t e d in t h i s s t u d y .
H y p o t h e s i s 1 : T her e i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l and h i s / h e r WMVAE
scores.
H y p o t h e s i s 2 : T her e i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s g r a d u a t e - l e v e l co ur se w o rk in t h e
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , s u p e r v i s i o n , and o r g a n i z a t i o n o f v o c a t i o n a l
e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .

9
H y p o t h e s i s 3 : Th ere i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s p o s s e s s i n g o r n o t p o s s e s s i n g M i c h i ­
gan t e a c h e r c e r t i f i c a t i o n and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
H y p o t h e s i s 4 : Th ere i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e in
v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
H y p o t h e s i s 5 : Th ere i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n c e in a d m i n i s t e r i n g
v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
H y p o t h e s i s 6 : Th ere i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e and
h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .

Re s ea rc h Methodology
P articipants

in

the

su b je c ts f o r t h i s study.
applicants
elig ib le

throughout
for

Leadership

Development

Program were

the

These LDP p a r t i c i p a n t s were s e l e c t e d from

M ic hi g an ,

rei m b u r se m en t

whose

as

n o r m a t i v e d a t a and WMVAE t e s t

a

common

vocational

goal

was

become

adm inistrator.

s c o r e s were c o l l e c t e d

o f t h e 63 i n d i v i d u a l s who had p a r t i c i p a t e d

to

The

from t h e f i l e s

in t h e LDP d u r i n g 1986,

1987, and 1988.
D escriptive s t a t i s t i c s
of

the

LDP

participants

were employed t o
and

the

provide a d e s c r ip t io n

distribution

of

WMVAE

scores.

I n f e r e n t i a l s t a t i s t i c s were used t o examine t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between
t h e in d e p e n d e n t and d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s .

Assumptions
1.
as

The r e s e a r c h e r assumed t h a t t h e 67 c o m p e te n c ie s i d e n t i f i e d

"ab solutely

needed"

in

the

survey

reflect

those

that

e s s e n t i a l f o r b e g i n n i n g v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s in M ichi gan.

are

10
2.

The r e s e a r c h e r assumed t h a t t h e e x a m i n a t i o n was d e v e l o p e d

a c c o r d i n g t o a c c e p t e d s t a n d a r d s and as d e t a i l e d

in t h e MDE’ s WMVAE

s p e c i f i c a t i o n s and p r o c e d u r e s .
3.

The r e s e a r c h e r assumed t h a t t h e c a n d i d a t e s r e s p o n d e d t o t h e

t e s t i t e m s and t o t h e Demographic P r o f i l e Form t o t h e b e s t o f t h e i r
ability.
Lim itations
1.

The s t u d y sample was l i m i t e d

t h e WMVAE as a p r e t e s t

to candidates

before entering

the

who had t a k e n

Leadership

Development

Program (LDP) in 1986, 1987, and 1988.
2.

No

attempt

was

made

to

evaluate

p ro gr am s,

instructors,

c a n d id a te s, or t e s t items.
3.

The WMVAE does n o t i n c l u d e a p er f o rm a nc e t e s t .

4.

R e s u l t s on t h e WMVAE do no t n e c e s s a r i l y i n d i c a t e t h e c a n d i ­

d a t e ’ s p e r fo r m a n c e as an a d m i n i s t r a t o r .
5.

R esults

on t h e

WMVAE may n o t

be

accurate

predictors

of

c a n d i d a t e s ’ s u c c e s s in s e e k i n g a d m i n i s t r a t i v e p o s i t i o n s .

D e f i n i t i o n s o f Terms
The f o l l o w i n g

te rm s

are defined

in t h e c o n t e x t

in which t h e y

a r e used in t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n .
A dm inistrative experience.

Years o f a d m i n i s t e r i n g

vocational

e d u c a t i o n p ro gr am s.
C andidate.

A p e r s o n who has t a k e n t h e WMVAE as a p r e t e s t f o r

t h e L e a d e r s h i p Development Program.

11
Coursew ork.
academic c o u r s e s

P o s tb a c c a la u re a te -1 evel
in t h e

adm inistration,

vocational

supervision,

education

and o r g a n i z a ­

t i o n o f v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n programs.
Educational
(i.e .,

lev el.

baccalaureate,

The h i g h e s t

m aster’s,

level

doctorate),

of

schooling

as measured

achieved
by d e g r e e

earned.
Michigan

vocational

adm inistrators.

s e c o n d a r y and p o s t s e c o n d a r y v o c a t i o n a l
ap pr ove d f o r rei m bu rse m en t

P er s o n s

who

adm inister

programs in Michigan and a r e

in a c c o rd an ce w it h

state

adm inistrative

rules.
Occupational e x p e r i e n c e .

Years o f w a g e - e a r n i n g work e x p e r i e n c e

in a s p e c i f i c b u s i n e s s , t r a d e , o r i n d u s t r i a l a r e a .
Teacher c e r t i f i c a t i o n .
candidate

possesses,

annually authorized,

i.e .,

The t y p e

of teaching

noncertified,

or o th e r,

certificate

vocationally

the

certified ,

according to the type of c e r t i f i c a t e

or a u th o riz a tio n held.
Teaching

experience.

Years

of

teaching

in

a

vocational

subject.
W r i t t e n Michigan V o c a t i o n a l A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Exa min atio n (WMVAE).
A test

on

which

an

individual

must

dem onstrate

pro fessio n al

knowledge o f t h e v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t i v e o c c u p a t i o n .
The te rm s

"vocational

education"

and

"occupational

a r e used i n t e r c h a n g e a b l y t h r o u g h o u t t h e d i s s e r t a t i o n .

education"

12
Summary and Overview
Acco rding
Education

to

the

Michigan

(L eg islativ e

A dm inistrative

Service

Bureau,

Rules

Relating

1982b),

to

education,

e x p e r i e n c e , and t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t i o n a r e i m p o r t a n t f o r v o c a t i o n a l
education a d m in is tr a to r s .
revealed

minimal

requirem ents.
basis

in

However, t h e i n i t i a l

research

Thus,

th is

tradition,

in

of

these

w r i t e r ’ s p u r p o s e was t o

man dat e,

i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f competencies,
adm inistrative

support

r ev ie w o f 1 i t e r a t u r e

and

current

or

investigate

the

regarding

the

practice

measurement t e c h n i q u e s ,

ch aracteristics

of

vocational

sim ilar

and d e s i r e d

education

adm inis­

trators.
C h a p t e r I c o n t a i n e d an i n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e s t u d y ,
of

the

pro blem,

research

the

w rite r’s

questions

and

hypotheses,

a s s u m p ti o n s and l i m i t a t i o n s ,
Chapter II
the

present

is

The

competency t e s t i n g

vocational
tive

is

background

of

and

historical

deve lo pm ent

first.

Next,

of

the

the

study,
WMVAE,

exam inations
data

and

are

also

occupational

in g e n e r a l

and

A dm inistra­

review ed.

occupational

in

identification

in p a r t i c u l a r a r e d i s c u s s e d .

norm ative

the

on t o p i c s o f i n t e r e s t

o f competencies f o r a d m in is tr a t o r s

cred en tialin g
of

of

and d e f i n i t i o n s o f key t e r m s .

considered

adm inistrators

co rrelatio n

i m p o r ta n c e

a review o f l i t e r a t u r e

study.

and v e r i f i c a t i o n

purpose,

a statement

The

knowledge

is

explained

in

examined, as w e l l .
The

design

Chapter I I I .
collection

and

me thodology

of

the

study

are

The s u b j e c t s , dev el o pm en t o f t h e WMVAE, and t h e d a t a method

are

described.

The

in d e p e n d e n t

and

d ep en d e n t

13

variab les

are d iscu ssed ,

and t h e

d ata-an aly sis

techniques

are

in

Chapter

IV.

conclusions,

and

explained.
Results
C hapter

of

the

V contains

data

analyses

a summary

of

recommendations f o r f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h .

are
the

reported
study,

CHAPTER I I
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Introduction
Several

topics

investigation.

appear

The f i r s t

historical

development

techniques

surfaced

assessm ent,

selection,

be

relev an t

to p ic considered

of

in

to

occupational

the

r ev ie w

of

discussed

in

th is

chapter

of

adm inistrative

of

adm inistrative

is

testing.

literature

is

present

chapter

the
Many

regarding

and e v a l u a t i o n o f human b e i n g s ,

v erificatio n
vocational

the

in t h i s

competency

and-pencil examinations, p r o je c tiv e t e s t s ,
A lso

to

i.e.,

the

paper-

and s o c i o m e t r i c methods.
the

id en tificatio n

com petencies

co m p et en c ie s

in

in

and

general

particular.

and
These

c o m p e t e n c i e s a r e f r e q u e n t l y p e r c e i v e d as p r e r e q u i s i t e s f o r a program
or

p o sitio n .

L iterature

on

ad m in istrativ e

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x a m i n a t i o n s i s a l s o re v ie w e d .
the

correlation

of

n o r m a t iv e

data

and

cred en tialin g
Finally,

occupational

and

r e s e a r c h on
knowledge

is

discussed.
H i s t o r i c a l Development o f O c c u p a t io n a l
Competency T e s t i n g
H i s t o r i c a l l y , t h e e v a l u a t i o n o f o c c u p a t i o n a l c o m p e t e n c i e s seems
t o have a t t r a c t e d a t t e n t i o n p r i m a r i l y d u r i n g p e r i o d s o f e m e r g e n c i e s .
During

World

War

I,

the

Oral

Test

14

was

d ev el o p ed

by

U.S.

Army

15
personnel

so t h a t

classified

for

m illio n s

of

civ ilian s

Employment S e r v i c e found a need t o c l a s s i f y by c e r t a i n s k i l l

levels

of

unemployed

1930s ( P a n i t z & 0 1 i v o ,
ma jo r r o l e

w o rk er s

19 7 1 ) .

addition,

during

The C i v i l

the

effectiv ely
States

m illions

In

be

U n it e d

the

army o c c u p a t i o n s .

could

the

Depression

of

the

S e r v i c e has a l s o p i a y e d a

in t h e deve lo pm ent o f w r i t t e n t e s t s

and, more r e c e n t l y ,

o f p r a c t i c a l p er f or m a nc e t e s t s .
Over

the

years,

examinations

have

been

relied

on

in

many

p r o f e s s i o n s t o m a i n t a i n o r m o n i t o r t h e l e v e l o f employee competence
in

those

fields.

A cc ep ta n ce

of

the

u n if or m

certified

a c c o u n t a n t (CPA) e x a m i n a t i o n and g r a d i n g s e r v i c e by s t a t e

public

1icensing

b o a r d s as a v a l i d measure o f p r o f i c i e n c y in a c c o u n t i n g enhanced t h e
statu re

of

p rofessional

accountants

(Zook,

1980).

Continued

competence i s e x p e c t e d o f h e a l t h p r o f e s s i o n a l s , t o p r o t e c t consumers
from o u t d a t e d o r i n a p p r o p r i a t e p r a c t i c e s ( J o h n s t o n , 19 83 ).

Johnston

n o t e d t h a t a s t a n d a r d i z e d c e r t i f y i n g e x a m i n a t i o n i s used t o e v a l u a t e
e n t r y - l e v e l competence o f medical t e c h n o l o g i s t s .
h e r c o nc e r n a b ou t c e r t i f y i n g

examinations:

She a l s o e x p r e s s e d

"An a p p r o p r i a t e mecha­

nism f o r v a l i d a t i o n o f c o n t i n u e d competence has n o t been a g r e e d upon
by h e a l t h p r o f e s s i o n a l s "
A ccording
C o m p e te n c y
U niversity

to

T esting
in

(p . i i ) .

W hitener

In stitu te

Big R a p i d s ,

p r o v i d e a u ni f or m n a t i o n a l
to serve vocational

(1981),

the

(NOCTI) ,

M ic h ig an ,

N ational
housed

at

"was c r e a t e d

occupational

in

O ccupational
F erris

an e f f o r t

competency t e s t i n g

e d u c a t o r s on a per manent b a s i s "

S tate

(p .

5).

to

program
Boras

(1985) s t a t e d t h a t t h e "NOCTI was e s t a b l i s h e d t o s e r v e as a n a t i o n a l

16

occupational

t e s t i n g c e n te r to serve vocational

emerged as t h e n a t i o n ’ s l e a d e r in o c c u p a t i o n a l
further

reported

that

the

nationwide

use

education,
testing"

of

NOCTI

and has

(p. 3 ).

He

examinations

i m p l i e s t h a t t h e y a r e a c c e p t e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e n a t i o n as a means o f
t e s t i n g t h e o c c u p a t i o n a l competence o f v o c a t i o n a l t e a c h e r s .
In

describing

the

Assessment C e n t e r P r o j e c t

A s s o c i a t i o n o f Secondary School
explained

some

assessment
research

of

theearly

center

and

concept.

de v el o p m en t ,

Principals

stages
He

Neal

in

(NASSP),
the

described
S c h m i tt

of

National

Hershey

devel op men t

how,

and

the

a

through
team

(1986)
of

the

years

from

of

Michigan

S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y found t h e a s s e s s m e n t c e n t e r t o be a v a l i d p r o c e d u r e
for selecting
long-term

school

adm inistrators.

d e ve lo p m en ta l

conjunction
in itiated

w ith

the

assessm ent

d e v i s i n g more e f f e c t i v e
indicated

center,

along

center

component,

led

to

selection

local

school

th e psychometric process

the

rapid

behavior
skill

modeling

d ev el op m en t,

used

program ,

and r e g i o n a l

methods o f t r a i n i n g

that

w ith

a un iq u e

component c a l l e d " S p r i n g f i e l d , "

in 1982 as a r e s p o n s e t o

He a l s o

Hershey s t a t e d t h a t

was

interest

in

adm inistrators.

of the

of

in

the

assessment

S p ringfield

participant

enthusiasm,

and e f f e c t i v e t r a n s f e r o f s k i l l s t o o n - t h e - j o b p er f o r m a n c e .
The

Maryland

com prehensive
quality

was

created,

Department

school-im provem ent

leadership

To do t h i s ,

S tate

at

the

of

E du ca ti on

in itia tiv e

school-building

embarked

aimed

level

at

on

a

ensuring

(S hilling,

198 6) .

t h e s t a t e w i d e Maryland Assessment C e n t e r Program (MACP)
which

was

co nd u ct ed in

cooperation

w it h

the

NASSP

17
A ss es sm ent C e n t e r .
local

school

One o f t h e o b j e c t i v e s o f t h e MACP i s

d istricts

screen

candidates

who

s ee k

to

" h e lp

adm inistrative

p o s i t i o n s " by d i a g n o s i n g t h e c a n d i d a t e s ’ s t r e n g t h s and we akn es ses in
skill

d i m e n s i o n s t h a t t h e NASSP has v a l i d a t e d as p r e r e q u i s i t e s

e f f e c t i v e p er f o r m a n c e (p. 4 ) .

A ccording t o S h i l l i n g , t h e p u r p o s e o f

t h e a s s e s s m e n t c e n t e r program i s t o

improve t h e q u a l i t y

educational

leaders

more

inform ation

on

S hilling
fix es’

also
but

providing

entry-level

stated

it

by

does

o bjective

candidates

for

the

that

"the assessment c e n te r

lay

the

foundation

of

(1986)

on

the

effects

n o te d t h a t change

in t h e

of

the

perform ance

’o ffe rs

no q u i c k

step-by-step

(p. 1 1 ) .

assessment

process

of future

p rin c ip a l ship.

steady,

improvement in school management and l e a d e r s h i p "
Commenting

for

center,

of selectin g

Farmer

school-based

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s w i l l n e c e s s i t a t e change in t r a i n i n g and a p p r a i s a l , in
order

to

in teg rate

the

assessm ent

center

process

w ith

other

personnel fu n c tio n s.
Competency t e s t i n g in t h e f i e l d o f e d u c a t i o n i s n o t used s o l e l y
t o t e s t t h e competence l e v e l

of educators.

It

to

of

(S chnittjer

measure

1984).

students’

level

competence

i s a l s o w i d e l y used
& Flippo,

L e g i s l a t o r s , s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s , and board o f e d u c a t i o n members

continue to pressure educators fo r g re a te r

accountability.

Hence,

minimum competency t e s t i n g w i l l c o n t i n u e t o p l a y a pr o m i n en t p a r t in
t h e w i d e s p r e a d e f f o r t t o a s s e s s academic ac h ie vem ent ( K l e i n , 1984).

18
I d e n t i f i c a t i o n and V e r i f i c a t i o n o f
A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Competencies
In t h e i r second annual
standards
Jones

for

(1987)

educational
found

that

implemented o r were
certification

of

s u rv ey o f c e r t i f i c a t i o n

and employment

adm inistrators,

LoPresti,

and

of

education

had

im ple m ent ing

standards

for

all

in t h e

state

departments

process

educational

Gousha,

of

adm inistrators,

but

only

20 o f

r e q u i r e d s p e c i f i c co m p et en c ie s t o o b t a i n c e r t i f i c a t i o n .

them

Since t h e i r

f i r s t s u r v e y r e p o r t t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r , Gousha e t a l . found t h a t o n ly
one s t a t e agency had made any change toward d e v e l o p i n g more s p e c i f i c
c o m p e t e n c i e s f o r use in c e r t i f i c a t i o n .
d istricts
than

had more s t r i n g e n t

state

certification

in stitu tio n s

of

tw o-thirds

of

standards

th at

educational

the

75

and s p e c i f i c

standards

higher

They d i d

in stitu tio n s

exceeded

state

adm inistrators.

competency

demanded.

education,

In

Go usha
in

find

et

their

Ten i n s t i t u t i o n s

al .

sch oo l

requirem ents

th eir

study

certi ficatio n

that

survey

found
had

of

th at

program

req u i rem ents

for

had added o r changed

c o m p e te n c ie s s i n c e t h e s u r v e y o f t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r .

the

In 1978,

the

Geo rg ia Department o f

National

Evaluation

System

(NES)

E d u c a ti o n
to

determ ine

knowledge and s k i l l s deemed n e c e s s a r y f o r e n t r y - l e v e l
and s u p e r v i s o r s ( S c h n i t t j e r & F I i p p o , 1984 ).

contracted
the

with

content

adm inistrators

NES p e r s o n n e l p r o v i d e d

t h e G eo rg ia Department o f E du ca tio n w ith 151 t o p i c s and an o b j e c t i v e
for

each

topic.

The o b j e c t i v e s

e x p e rts in th e f i e l d ,

were s e n t

to

independent

content

who revie we d them f o r t o p i c - o b j e c t i v e ma tc h ,

c o n t e n t , a c c u r a c y , and b i a s .

A second ad hoc co m mi tt ee narr ow ed t h e

19
151 o b j e c t i v e s t o 117, which were e v e n t u a l l y a d o p t e d .

Eventually,

NES p e r s o n n e l s e l e c t e d 82 o b j e c t i v e s f o r i t e m w r i t i n g .
In 1980, t h e F l o r i d a l e g i s l a t u r e p a s s e d S e c t i o n 23 1 . 0 8 7 , one o f
the

more

far-reaching

c o n s eq u en c es

F lo rid a ’s educational

sy st em .

of

G riffin

the

movement

and Ba rr y

to

(1984)

reshape
described

t h e l e g i s l a t o r s ’ i n t e n t i o n in p a s s i n g t h i s s e c t i o n :
E f f i c i e n t and e f f e c t i v e management o f s c h o o l s t o meet t h e needs
o f s t u d e n t s in t o d a y ’ s s o c i e t y r e q u i r e s a un iq u e b l e n d o f
s k i l l s , e x p e r i e n c e , and academic background which i s r a r e l y
p r o v i d e d t h r o u g h t y p i c a l b a c c a l a u r e a t e programs in e d u c a t i o n .
The p u r p o s e
of th i s section
is
to
provide
for
the
i d e n t i f i c a t i on o f t h o s e c o m p e t e n c i e s b a s i c t o e f f e c t i ve
management o f s c h o o l s and t o p r o v i d e f o r t h e develo pme nt o f a
program o f com pe te nc y-b a se d c e r t i f i c a t i o n o f school man age rs .
The F l o r i d a Council
and g i v e n

the

c o m p e te n c ie s
evaluating
Counc i 1

on E d u c a t i o n a l

resp o n sib ility

of

school

managers’

used

four

competencies:

of

as

and

standards,

performance
rep o rts

(G riffin

to

relev an t
and

procedures

for

19 8 5 ) .

The

& Barry,

id e n ti fy

m anagerial

relevant

m a n a g e r i al

(a) a s t u d y o f h i g h - p e r f o r m i n g p r i n c i p a l s ,

indicated

independent

ma nagers;

id en tify

ma nagers,

by s t u d e n t a s s e s s m e n t t e s t
principals

to

Management was e s t a b l i s h e d

studies
(d)

results;

(b)

a study of high-perform ing

by s u p e r i n t e n d e n t

assessment;

of com petencies

exhibited

findings

of

a study

identified

of

Florida

(c)

findings

by n o n s c h o o l
schools

by

the

NASSP.
A cco rd in g t o a s p e c i a l
Perform ance-Based
collaborative

r e p o r t o f t h e NASSP Cons or tiu m f o r t h e

P reparation

effo rts

between

i n i t i a t e d as e a r l y a s t h e 1960s.

of

Princi pals

p rin cip als

and

(NASSP,
professors

1985),
were

A group o f i n t e r e s t e d p r o f e s s o r s

20
began a t t e n d i n g t h e annual
became

known

as

the

NASSP c o n v e n t i o n s ,

Committee

A dm inistration

and

investigate

feasib ility

the

of

Professors

S up erv isio n .
of

They

has

remained

the

same,

the

of

first

g ro u p l a t e r

S eco n da ry
met

co m p e te n c y -b a se d ,

p e r f o r m a n c e - b a s e d t r a i n i n g p ro gr am s .
t h e academic and p r o f e s s i o n a l

and t h i s

in

emphasis

o f school

has

197 0

field-based,

Al though t h e goal

preparation

School

to

to
and

improve

adm inistrators

shifted

to

field-based

preparation.
From t h e s e o r g a n i z a t i o n s

and c o m m it te e s ,

an a s s e s s m e n t c e n t e r

was e s t a b l i s h e d t o meet NASSP o b j e c t i v e s .

A set of generic s k ill s

for

The com mi tt ee

thep rin c ip a l ship

en co u ra g e

in terest

un iv ersities
education.

w ith

was
in

a

identified.
national

a record

of

consortium

among

com petency-based

A s u r v e y was c o m p le te d ,

moved

to

colleges

and

ad m in istrativ e

and a c o n s o r t i u m was formed t o

f u r t h e r com pe te n c y- ba se d a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e d u c a t i o n .
The f o l l o w i n g

i s a d e f i n i t i o n o f c o m p e te n c ie s p r o p o s ed by t h e

NASSP and a c c e p t e d in t h e c o n s o r t i u m r e p o r t :
Competency can be measured o n ly t h r o u g h an a c c u m u l a t i o n o f
e v i d e n c e , o v e r t i m e , t h a t an i n d i v i d u a l i s a b l e t o a p p l y
knowledge and p e r f o r m c e r t a i n f u n c t i o n s and s k i l l s in ways
which a r e , more o f t e n t h a n n o t , p e r c e i v e d p o s i t i v e l y by both
the
i n d i v i d u a l and h i s ( o r h e r ) a u d i e n c e s , ( p . 4)
The

a u t h o r s o f t h e r e p o r t went on t o s t a t e t h a t a p e r s o n i s

com pete nt b e c a u s e o f what h e / s h e knows, d o e s ,
individual

is

co m pet ent when what h e / s h e

e v a l u a t e d as b e i n g p o s i t i v e i n i t s

results

or fe e ls ;

knows, d o e s ,
and i s

p e r s o n ’ s c o n s i s t e n t b e h a v i o r as a human b e i n g .

not

rather,

an

or feels

is

a lso p a r t o f the

21
I d e n t i f i c a t i o n and V e r i f i c a t i o n o f V o c a ti o n a l
A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Competencies
The V o c a t i o n a l E du ca ti on Act o f 1963 p r o v i d e s f o r a s s i s t a n c e t o
s t a t e and l o c a l e d u c a t i o n a l

a g e n c i e s in t h e devel opment o f programs

and s e r v i c e s t o h e l p t h e many y o u t h s in h ig h s c h o o l s and community
c o l l e g e s who need some t y p e o f s p e c i a l i z e d e d u c a t i o n .
The deve lo pm ent o f dynamic and f u n c t i o n a l programs depends t o a
l a r g e e x t e n t upon t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y o f q u a l i f i e d e d u c a t i o n a l
l e a d e r s h i p in l o c a l school d i s t r i c t s , i n t e r m e d i a t e school
d i s t r i c t s , and in high s c h o o l s and community c o l l e g e s o p e r a t e d
by such d i s t r i c t s . (Wenrich, Hodges, Sommerfeld, & Dugan, 1968,
p. 4)
Based on t h i s need , U n i v e r s i t y o f Michigan p e r s o n n e l began t h e
Michigan

Leadership

program c o n s i s t e d

Development

Program

in

1964.

The

training

o f an 8-week workshop h e l d on t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f

Michigan campus in Ann Arbor and a y e a r - l o n g i n t e r n s h i p done in t h e
t r a i n e e s ’ home sch ool d i s t r i c t s .
T raditionally,
S tates,

most

vocational
occupational

in

Michigan

vocational

teachers.

elsewhere

adm inistrators

These

experience

as

teachers

and t e a c h

come

across
from

typically

in t h i s

the

the

have

specialized

U n it e d

ranks

of

job-specific
discipline.

T e a c h e r s moving i n t o a d m i n i s t r a t i v e p o s i t i o n s f i n d t h a t t h e r o l e o f
vocational

adm inistrator

is

much

broader

than

that

of

general

e d u c a t i o n a d m i n i s t r a t o r and y e t r e q u i r e s some s p e c i f i c c o m p e t e n c i e s .
The need f o r s t r o n g and com petent a d m i n i s t r a t o r s o f v o c a t i o n a l
e d u c a t i o n has long been r e c o g n i z e d .
The r a p i d e x p a n s i o n o f
v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n programs and i n c r e a s e d s t u d e n t e n r o l l m e n t s
have r e s u l t e d in a need f o r i n c r e a s i n g numbers o f t r a i n e d
vocational
ad m in istrato rs
at
both
the
secondary
and
postsecondary l e v e l .
P r e s e r v i c e and i n - s e r v i c e a d m i n i s t r a t o r s
need t o be well p r e p a r e d f o r t h e complex and uniq ue s k i l l s
r e q u i r e d t o s u c c e s s f u l l y d i r e c t v o c a t i o n a l programs.

22
The e f f e c t i v e t r a i n i n g o f l o c a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s has been
hampered by t h e l i m i t e d knowledge o f t h e c o m p e te n c ie s needed by
l o c a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s and by t h e l i m i t e d a v a i l a b i l i t y o f
com pe te n c y- ba se d m a t e r i a l s f o r t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f v o c a t i o n a l
adm inistrators.
In r e s p o n s e t o t h i s p r e s s i n g ne ed , t h e Bureau
o f O c c u p a t i o n a l and A d u lt E d u c a ti o n o f t h e U.S. O f f i c e o f
E ducation, under p ro v is io n s o f P a rt C--R esearch of the
V o c a t i o n a l E d u c a ti o n Amendments o f 1968, funded The C e n t e r f o r
a scope o f work e n t i t l e d "Development o f Competency-Based
I n s t r u c t i o n a l M a t e r i a l s f o r Local A d m i n i s t r a t o r s o f V o c a ti o n a l
E d u c a t i o n . " (Norton e t a l . , 1977, p. i i i )
The need f o r s t r o n g and co m pet ent a d m i n i s t r a t o r s o f v o c a t i o n a l
e d u c a t i o n i s no l e s s
The

important today than i t

vocational a d m in is tra to r

is

expected

to

has been in t h e p a s t .
be

a

specialist

in

v o c a t i o n a l - t e c h n i c a l e d u c a t i o n and t o p o s s e s s t h e knowledge, s k i l l s ,
and a b i l i t i e s o f
vocational

the

general

adm inistrator

education

admini s t r a t o r .

i s al so e x p e c t e d t o work e f f e c t i v e l y

The
w ith

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f b u s i n e s s and i n d u s t r y , as well as w it h t h o s e from
other agencies,

i.e.,

Job T r a i n i n g P a r t n e r s h i p Act and Department o f

Social S ervices p e rso n n el.
Most v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s a r e r e c r u i t e d from t e a c h i n g
p o s i t i o n s and v o c a t i o n a l t e a c h e r s g e n e r a l l y have a high d e g r e e
o f competence in a p a r t i c u l a r f i e l d .
Le a d er s in v o c a t i o n a l
e d u c a t i o n c a n no 1o n g e r f o l 1 ow t h e i r s p e c i a l i z e d r o l e s
e x c l u s i v e ly ; they
must be both s p e c i a l i s t s in v o c a t i o n a l
e d u c a t i o n and b e h a v i o r a l s c i e n t i s t s as w e l l .
They must be a b l e
t o u n d e r s t a n d and a s s e s s t h e t r e n d s o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l and s o c i a l
ch an ge .
They must be a b l e t o r e l a t e v o c a t i o n a l and t e c h n i c a l
e d u c a t i o n t o b u s i n e s s and i n d u s t r y , t o gove rnm en t, and
to
e d u c a t i o n in g e n e r a l .
They must be a b l e t o c o n c e p t u a l i z e t h e
new and emerging r e l a t i o n s h i p s and s e t new g o a l s f o r v o c a t i o n a l
e d u c a t i o n . (Wenrich & Wenrich, 1974, p. 102)
To a d d r e s s t h e problems o f t r a i n i n g v o c a t i o n a l
as

outlined

above,

researchers

at

the

C enter

adm inistrators,
for

V ocational

E du ca ti on a t The Ohio S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y ( p u r s u a n t t o a g r a n t from t h e
Office

of

Education,

U.S.

Department

of

Health,

Education,

and

23
W e l f a r e ) c on d uc te d a n a t i o n a l

investigation

t h e co m p e te n c ie s t h a t a r e i m p o r t a n t t o
vocational education a d m in is tra to rs .

to

identify

and v e r i f y

s e c o n d a r y and p o s t s e c o n d a r y

From t h i s r e s e a r c h ,

a 1i s t of

166 c o m p e te n c ie s in n i n e c a t e g o r i e s o r a d m i n i s t r a t i v e f u n c t i o n s was
developed.

Based on t h e s e

identification

of essential

competencies,
competencies

the
for

parameters

first-y ear

for

the

vocational

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s in Michigan were e s t a b l i s h e d .
The o n e- h un dr ed and s i x t y - s i x (166) c o m p e t e n c i e s v e r i f i e d as a
r e s u l t o f t h e N a t i o n a l C e n t e r f o r R e s ea r c h in V o c a t i o n a l
E d u c a tio n were used as t h e b a s i s f o r d e t e r m i n i n g what
c o m p e te n c ie s were c o n s i d e r e d " a b s o l u t e l y needed" o r " p r o b a b l y
needed" by f i r s t y e a r v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n a d m i n i s t r a t o r s in
M ichigan.
All v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n a d m i n i s t r a t o r s o f Michigan
( l o c a l d i r e c t o r s , a r e a c e n t e r p r i n c i p a l s , CEPD c o o r d i n a t o r s ,
community c o l l e g e a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , a s s i s t a n t p r i n c i p a l s o f a r e a
c e n t e r s , i n t e r m e d i a t e s c h o o l d i s t r i c t a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , and
a s s i s t a n t l o c a l d i r e c t o r s ) were i n c l u d e d in t h e s t u d y .
Returns
were r e c e i v e d from o ne -h u n d re d and s e v e n t y - t w o (172) o f t h e
vocational
a d m in i s t r a t o r s
surveyed.
S ix ty -sev en
(67)
c o m p e te n c ie s were i d e n t i f i e d as b e i n g " a b s o l u t e l y needed" by a
f i r s t y e a r admini s t r a t o r w i t h a t o t a l
of eig h ty
(80)
c o m p e te n c ie s i d e n t i f i e d as b e in g " a b s o l u t e l y neede d" o r
" p r o b a b l y n e e d e d . " (Moore & Ray, 1985, p. 15)
These c o m p e te n c ie s were i d e n t i f i e d by r e s e a r c h e r s a t Michigan S t a t e
U n i v e r s i t y t h r o u g h a g r a n t awarded by t h e MDE/V-TES, t o d e v e l o p and
im plem ent

the

V ocational

E d u c a t i on

Admi n i s t r a t o r

Leadershi p

Development Program.
In 1972, t h e F l o r i d a S t a t e L e g i s l a t u r e e s t a b l i s h e d t h e Council
on Te a c h e r E d u c a ti o n

(COTE) t o

i d e n t i f y th e b a s ic competencies

for

a l l c l a s s r o o m t e a c h e r s and methods o f a s s e s s i n g t h o s e c o m p e t e n c i e s .
COTE

personnel

id e n tified

and

v erified

through

co n s e n s u s 23 g e n e r i c c o m p e t e n c i e s deemed e s s e n t i a l
t e a c h e r s (Mohamed, 1983 ).

professional

to a ll

classroom

The n e x t s t e p was t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n

and

24
verification

of

c o m p e te n c ie s

appropriate

professional

education.

Through

V ocational

a

un iq ue

gr ou p s

to

in

each

com prehensive

A d m in istrato rs’

and

deemed

essential

specialization
literatu re

C om petencies

by

area

in

search,

the

Iden tificatio n

and

V e r i f i c a t i o n S tud y Task Forc e i d e n t i f i e d 561 p o t e n t i a l s t a t e m e n t s o f
vocational
other

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e c o m p e te n c ie s t h a t

studies

conducted

in

the

employed t h e Dacum and Delphi
561 s t a t e m e n t s o f p o t e n t i a l

U n it e d

had been i d e n t i f i e d

S tates.

techniques

to

The

refine

Task

in

Force

and s c r e e n t h e

c o m p e te n c ie s i n t o 83 g e n e r i c s t a t e m e n t s

o f c o m p e t e n c i e s c o n s i d e r e d t o be un iq ue t o and needed by v o c a t i o n a l
adm inistrators.
R e s e a r c h e r s a t t h e M a s s a c h u s e t t s S t a t e Department o f E d u c a ti o n ,
D iv isio n o f Occupational
Resnick,

conducted

Education,

a "state

of the

un de r t h e
art"

direction

study

o f co m pe ten cy -ba se d

t e a c h e r e d u c a t i o n programs f o r v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t o r s ,
a t m id dl e management and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e l e v e l s .

o f Harold

including those

The second ph as e o f

t h e p r o j e c t i n c l u d e d v a l i d a t i o n o f c o m p e t e n c i e s needed by v o c a t i o n a l
adm inistrators.
certification
for

vocational

A

subsequent

requirements
educators

and

ph as e

was

a

national

survey

professional-developm ent

throughout

the

U n it e d

States

of

activities
( R e s n ic k

&

G a r d n e r , 1 9 77 ).
To i d e n t i f y t h e c o m p e te n c ie s n e c e s s a r y in a d m i n i s t e r i n g a j o i n t
vocational

sch o ol

in Ohio,

a s u rv e y i n s t r u m e n t c o n t a i n i n g

191 t a s k

s t a t e m e n t s w i t h i n 9 competency c a t e g o r i e s was s e n t t o t h e 49 j o i n t
vocational

sc ho ol

superintendents

in Ohio.

Of t h e

191 t a s k s ,

(63%) were deemed i m p o r t a n t t o s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s (Wolf, 1985).

121

25

The s t u d i e s
id en tify

and

d i s c u s s e d above r e p r e s e n t
verify

adm inistrators.

com petencies

In somec a s e s ,

t o t h o s e o f o t h e r school

needed

superintendents

in

needed

the

general

areas

of

to

by v o c a t i o n a l
been s i m i l a r

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s . A cco rd in g t o

by

efforts

t h e c o m p e t e n c i e s have

more s i m i l a r i t i e s th a n d i f f e r e n c e s have
com petencies

some o f t h e

Wolf ( 1 98 5) ,

been found t o e x i s t in t h e

and

vocational

curriculum,

education

instruction,

program

p l a n n i n g , s t u d e n t s e r v i c e s , p e r s o n n e l management, s t a f f d ev el o pm en t,
p r o f e s s i o n a l r e l a t i o n s , community r e l a t i o n s , f a c i l i t i e s , management,
and b u s i n e s s management.

A dm inistrative C redentialinq
Resea rc h has been con d uc te d t o p r o j e c t t h e s u p p l y o f and demand
f o r school
states,

adm inistrators.

In t h e i r s t u d y o f d a t a c o l l e c t e d in s i x

Kuh, McCarthy, and Zent (1983) found t h a t s u p p l y and demand

influence c e r t i f i c a t i o n requirem ents.

They s t a t e d ,

While an o v e r s u p p l y o f p o t e n t i a l j o b incu mbe nts can have some
p o s i t i v e e f f e c t s on t h e p r o f e s s i o n ( e . g . , s t r e n g t h e n i n g
certification
r e q u i r e m e n t s and p r e p a r a t i o n s t a n d a r d s ) ,
the
p r o f e s s i o n c a n n o t res p on d t o ma rket ch ang es w i t h o u t s u f f i c i e n t
knowledge o f supply/demand t r e n d s , (p. 3)
I t i s n o te w o r th y t h a t Kuh e t a l . had d i f f i c u l t y c o n d u c t i n g t h e s t u d y
bec a us e o f wide d i f f e r e n c e s
state.

The

researchers

in c e r t i f i c a t i o n

found

that

requirem ents

adm inistrative

in each

certification

r e q u i r e m e n t s ran g ed from a w r i t t e n e x a m i n a t i o n t o a minimum number
o f graduate courses f o r completion o f a s p e c i a l i s t ’ s degree.

They

also

hold

found

that

adm inistrators

in

proper a d m in is tra tiv e c r e d e n t i a l s .

some

states

did

not

even

26

Kuh e t a l . c o n c l u d e d ,
profession to

identify

adm inistrative
requirements"

" I t may be an a p p r o p r i a t e ti m e f o r

t h e co m p et en c ie s n e c e s s a r y f o r s a t i s f a c t o r y

pe r f o r m a n c e
(p.

the

15 ).

and

to

They

reflect

called

them

in

for d e fin ite

certification
standards

for

j u d g i n g s a t i s f a c t o r y p er fo rm a nc e and s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e s e s t a n d a r d s
might be e s t a b l i s h e d by r e g i o n a l a c c r e d i t i n g a s s o c i a t i o n s .
Gousha e t a l . (1986) r e p o r t e d t h a t ,
study

th at

c o m p e te n c ie s
com petencies;
consideration

certified

school

to

for

be
in

at

met
2

the

o f t h e 38 s t a t e s

adm inistrators,

certificatio n

states,

sp ecific

time of the

and

16

20

Of t h e

h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n w i t h g r a d u a t e programs f o r school

sp ecified

did

com petencies

study.

in t h e i r

not

were

have
under

institutions

of

adm inistrators,

32 had a l i s t

o f r e q u i r e d c o m p et en c ie s and 17 d i d n o t have r e q u i r e d

competencies;

respondents

from 3 campuses d i d

not

r es p on d

to

the

question.
In Michigan as in o t h e r s t a t e s ,
many o c c u p a t i o n s .

For example,

a s ta te licen se is required

t o be a l i c e n s e d

b u tte r grader

in
in

M ichigan, t h e a p p l i c a n t f o r l i c e n s u r e must (a) p as s t h e e x a m i n a t i o n ,
(b)

have some e x p e r i e n c e

( c)

abide

by

the

rules

in m a n u f a c t u r i n g and g r a d i n g
of the

Department

butter,

of A griculture.

and
I t is

d i f f i c u l t t o o b t a i n i n f o r m a t i o n ab out l i c e n s i n g in Michigan b e c a u s e
12 o f t h e

s t a t e ’ s 22 d e p a r t m e n t s ,

Co urt and t h e

L e g i s l a t i v e Council,

including

the

have l i c e n s i n g

(Michigan Employment S e c u r i t y Commission, 1986).

Michigan

Supreme

resp o n sib ilities

27
Gousha

et

al.

(1986)

i n c l u d e d in t h e i r s t u d y ,
the

certification

examination.

reported

in

11

of

the

states

an e x a m i n a t i o n was a d m i n i s t e r e d as p a r t o f

process.

In

th at,

Eighteen

another

three

states

states,

did

the

not

have

such

adm inistration

an
and

s u p e r v i s i o n s e c t i o n o f t h e N a t i o n a l T e a c h e r Exa m in at io n b a t t e r y was
used.

In t h e

r e m a in in g

eight

states

in

the

study,

some form o f

e x a m i n a t i o n d ev el o p ed by o r f o r t h e s p e c i f i c s t a t e was u s e d .
At t h e 13 i n s t i t u t i o n s o f h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n Gousha e t a l . found
were u s in g some kind o f e x a m i n a t i o n , t h e G ra d u a te Record Examination
was t h e most commonly u s e d .
e i g h t campuses,
interview s

and in many o t h e r c a s e s l o c a l l y d e v e l o p e d t e s t s

were

adm inistration

The M i l l e r A n a l o g i e s T e s t was used on

us ed ,
and

or

state

supervision

section

of

on

two

in stitu tio n s

had some form o f co m pre he ns iv e o r

examination

as

program

school

entrance

only

the

b attery

for

used

were

Exam ination

an

was

examinations

requirement

adm inistrators,

e x a m i n a t i o n upon c o m p le ti o n o f t h e program.

National

cam puses.

for

wh ereas

required.

four

The

T ea ch er
S ixteen

qualifying
an

or

advanced
required

w ritten
degree
an o r a l

Gousha e t a l . r e p o r t e d

t h a t " t h e s p e c i f i c use o f c o m p e te n c ie s i s growing" and t h a t t h e use
o f e x a m i n a t i o n s i s a l s o i n c r e a s i n g (p. 1 3 ) .
L eavitt
assessment:

(1978)

cited

three

paper-and-pencil

s o c i o m e t r i c methods.

general

tests,

approaches

projective

1a r g e l y

exam inations

1 im ited
y ield

formal

exam inations,

and

Each has i t s own a d v a n t a g e s and d i s a d v a n t a g e s .

Paper-and-pencil devices are r e l a t i v e l y sta n d a rd iz e d ,
is

to

to

m ass-selection

rich

m aterial,

situ a tio n s.

but

they

are

b u t t h e i r use
P ro jectiv e
su b jectiv e,

28

in d iv id u alistic,
me asu re s

are

expensive,

ea s y

to

use

and p o o r l y v a l i d a t e d .

and

relatively

valid

Sociom etric

but

have

serious

i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r t h e power r e l a t i o n s h i p s in an o r g a n i z a t i o n .
In

Gousha

o fficials

et

a l . ’s

reported

certification

as

th at

a school

(1986)

survey,

teaching

32

state

experience

adm inistrator

in

certificatio n

was

their

required

states;

seven i n d i c a t e d t h e i r s t a t e s had no such r e q u i r e m e n t s .
respondents s ta te d

that

classroom teaching

for

another

Twenty-eight

e x p e r i e n c e was r e q u i r e d

f o r g r a d u a t e s tu d y in school a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a t t h e i r i n s t i t u t i o n s o f
higher education.
required,

In c o n t r a s t , 24 i n d i c a t e d such e x p e r i e n c e was n o t

b u t many o f them s a i d

students

of

school

adm inistration

were en co u ra g ed t o have c l a s s r o o m t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e b e c a u s e i t

is

often

20

required

states,

for

6 d istricts,

state
and

certification
15

campuses

and

represented

3 y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e were r e q u i r e d ;
sampled,

this

employment.

in a l l

was t h e most common number o f y e a r s

n e x t most common amount o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e
and i n s t i t u t i o n s
also

found t h a t

teaching

of higher education
six

experience

of the

school

before

an

was

in

individual

the

study,

constituencies
required.

required

2 years.

d istricts

In

The

by s t a t e s

Gousha e t

required
could

al.

5 years

apply

for

of
an

adm inistrative position.
Go ush a

et

al .

al so

found

th at

21

states

had

continuing

education requirem ents f o r persons holding c e r t i f i c a t i o n
adm inistrators.
requirem ents.

The o t h e r

18 s t a t e s

in

their

The r e q u i r e m e n t s in t h e 21 s t a t e s

study

as

had

sch ool
no

such

included g raduate

29
study,

continuing

education

u n its,

and

clock

hours

of

staff

d e v e l o p m e n t - - a l l w i t h i n a p e r i o d o f from 1 t o 10 y e a r s .
The

minimum

qualifications

s u p e rin te n d e n ts o f schools

that

have

been

established

in Michigan a r e o u t l i n e d

in

the

for

School

Code o f 1976 ( L e g i s l a t i v e S e r v i c e Bureau, 1982b):
380.651 S u p e r i n t e n d e n t ; minimum q u a l i f i c a t i o n s .
S e c . 651.
An i n t e r m e d i a t e s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s h a l l p o s s e s s t h e
f o l l o w i n g minimum q u a l i f i c a t i o n s :
( a ) F o r t y - f i v e m o n t h s ’ e x p e r i e n c e as a t e a c h e r o r a d m i n i s ­
t r a t o r in p u b l i c o r n o n p u b l i c s c h o o l s .
(b) A t e a c h e r ’ s c e r t i f i c a t e i s s u e d by t h e s t a t e board and a
m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e in e d u c a t i o n from a col l e g e o r u n i v e r s i t y
app ro ved by a r e c o g n i z e d a c c r e d i t i n g agenc y, (p. 74)
3 8 0. 1 2 46 S u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f s c h o o l s ; q u a l i f i c a t i o n s .
S ec. 1246. A p e r s o n employed as a s u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f s c h o o l s
s h a l l p o s s e s s a t l e a s t an
e a r n e d b a c h e l o r ’ s d e g r e e from a
c o l 1 e g e a c c e p t a b l e t o t h e s t a t e b o a r d and s h a l 1 be t h e
p o s s e s s o r o f o r be e l i g i b l e f o r a t e a c h e r ’ s c e r t i f i c a t e o r have
e d u c a t i o n a l q u a l i f i c a t i o n s e q u i v a l e n t t h e r e t o , u n d er s t a n d a r d s
d e t e r m i n e d by t h e s t a t e b o a r d , (p. 74)
The minimum q u a l i f i c a t i o n s
in

Michi gan

are

outlined

in

for directors

of special

t h e Revi sed A d m i n i s t r a t i v e

education
Rules

for

S p e c i a l E d u c a t i o n (Michigan S t a t e Board o f E d u c a t i o n , 1 9 8 6 b ) :
R. 340.1771
D ire c to r of special education; special education
and e x p e r i e n c e r e q u i r e m e n t s .
R u l e 7 1 . ( 1 ) F o r f u l 1 a p p r o v a l , a di r e c t o r o f s p e c i a l
education
s h a l 1 p o s s e s s al 1 o f t h e f o l 1owi ng
mi nimum
q u alifications:
( a ) An e a r n e d m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r e q u i v a l e n t .
(b) F u ll ap pr o va l in a t l e a s t 1 a r e a o f s p e c i a l e d u c a t i o n .
( c ) Th ree y e a r s o f s u c c e s s f u l p r o f e s s i o n a l p r a c t i c e o r
a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e in s p e c i a l e d u c a t i o n , o r c o m b in a ti o n
thereof.
(d) T h i r t y s e m e s t e r o r 45 te rm ho ur s o f g r a d u a t e c r e d i t and
a s u c c e s s f u l 2 0 0 - c l o c k - h o u r p r a c t i c u m in s p e c i a l e d u c a t i o n
adm inistration.
G r a d u a t e c r e d i t s h a l l be e a r n e d in a c o l l e g e
o r u n i v e r s i t y whose program has been approv ed by t h e s t a t e
b o a r d o f e d u c a t i o n and s h a l l be d i s t r i b u t e d a p p r o p r i a t e l y t o
a s s u r e knowledge and competency as r e l a t e d t o s p e c i a l e d u c a t i o n
in t h e f o l l o w i n g a r e a s :

30
( i ) Program devel opment and e v a l u a t i o n .
( i i ) P er s on ne l s t a f f i n g , s u p e r v i s i o n , and e v a l u a t i o n ,
( i i i ) I n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s , co m m u n ic a ti o n s , p e r ­
s u a s i o n , and m o r a l e .
( i v ) E v a l u a t i o n o f i n - s e r v i c e o r g a n i z a t i o n and manage­
ment.
(v) Bu d g et in g , f i n a n c i n g , and r e p o r t i n g .
(vi) Parent r e la tio n s h ip s .
( v i i ) School p l a n t p l a n n i n g .
( v i i i ) Consultation.
( i x ) Res earch and g r a n t w r i t i n g .
(x) O f f i c e management, i n c l u d i n g o f f i c e a u t o m a t i o n ,
( x i ) S c h o o l - r e l a t e d l e g a l a c t i v i t i e s and due p r o c e s s
hearing.
( x i i ) C o m p u t e r - a s s i s t e d management.
(e)
One y e a r o f s u c c e s s f u l e x p e r i e n c e as s p e c i a l e d u c a t i o n
d i r e c t o r in an approv ed s p e c i a l e d u c a t i o n pr ogram.
(f)
Recommendation from a c o l l e g e o r u n i v e r s i t y approved
f o r t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f s p e c i a l e d u c a t i on d i r e c t o r s w h ic h
a t t e s t s t h a t t h e p e r s o n h a s a c q u i r e d t h e k n o w l e d g e and
c o m p e t e n c i e s i n s u b d i v i s i o n ( d ) o f t h i s s u b r u l e and h a s
d e m o n s t r a t e d l e a d e r s h i p a b i l i t y and g e n e r a l knowledge o f i s s u e s
and problems in a l l d i s a b i l i t y a r e a s o f s p e c i a l e d u c a t i o n , (p.
40)
The r u l e s r e g u l a t i n g t h e c e r t i f i c a t i o n o f a d m i n i s t r a t o r s in Michigan
a r e c u r r e n t l y b ei ng c o n s i d e r e d f o r r e v i s i o n .
In

addition,

Educational
elig ib le

to

participate

in

the

Management Assessment C e n t e r

for

assessm ent,

a candidate

Michigan

Institute

(MIEMAC) program o r t o
must

meet

the

for
be

f o l 1 owing

r e q u i r e m e n t s (MIEM, 1985):
MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
The Assessment C e n t e r Program i s d e s i g n e d t o a s s i s t p u b l i c
school d i s t r i c t s in t h e s e l e c t i o n and t r a i n i n g o f c a n d i d a t e s
fo r school-level adm inistrative p o sitio n s.
T h e r e f o r e , school
d i s t r i c t s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s a r e e x p e c t e d t o commit t h e i r t o p
c a n d i d a t e s f o r p r i n c i p a l s h i p s and a s s i s t a n t p r i n c i p a l s h i p s t o
p a r t i c i p a t e in t h e program.
A ppropriate p a r t i c i p a n t s are
t e a c h e r s , a s s i s t a n t p r i n c i p a l s and d i s t r i c t - l e v e l p e r s o n n e l who
a r e p r e p a r e d f o r , and h i g h l y m o t i v a t e d t o w a r d s , b u i l d i n g - l e v e l
a d m in is tr a t iv e assignments.
The f o l l o w i n g minimum e l i g i b i l i t y
c r i t e r i a a r e MANDATORY f o r a l l p a r t i c i p a n t s f o r t h e MIEMAC
Program.
1. P o s s e s s i o n o f g r a d u a t e w or k o r some a d m i n i s t r a t i o n
ex p erien ces, o th e r than p r i n c i p a l s h i p s .

31
2.

Recommendation o f t h e school d i s t r i c t s u p e r i n t e n d e n t o r
supervisor.
3. Signed agree men t by t h e p a r t i c i p a n t t o r e s p e c t t h e
c o p y r i g h t and c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y o f t h e Asse ss men t C e n t e r
p r o c e s s and m a t e r i a l s .
4. Commitment by t h e school d i s t r i c t a d m i n i s t r a t i o n t h a t
the p a r tic ip a n t will attend in -s e rv ic e or professional
develo pme nt t r a i n i n g programs d e s i g n e d t o a d d r e s s s k i l l
d e f i c i e n c i e s i d e n t i f i e d in t h e a s s e s s m e n t c e n t e r
process.
In t h e f i n a l s e l e c t i o n o f p a r t i c i p a n t s f o r t h e A ssessment
C e n t e r program, s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s wish t o c o n s i d e r t h e f o l l o w i n g
factors:
1.
P r e s e n t and f u t u r e need f o r a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .
2. E d u c a t i o n a l t r a i n i n g and e x p e r i e n c e .
3. Employment t e n u r e in t h e d i s t r i c t .
4. Perfo rma nc e t o d a t e .
5. D i s t r i c t need f o r fema le and m i n o r i t y a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .
6. D i s t r i c t use o f a s s e s s m e n t c e n t e r d a t a in i t s a d m i n i s ­
t r a t i v e se le c tio n process.
7. Employee’ s p a r t i c i p a t i o n in t h e d i s t r i c t ’ s l e a d e r s h i p
devel opment program, i f a p p l i c a b l e , (pp. 5-6 )
A ccording

to

the

N ational

C o m m is s io n

on

E xcellence

in

E d u c a ti o n a l A d m i n i s t r a t i o n (1 9 87 ), r e s e a r c h f i n d i n g s have shown t h a t
the

educational

prom oting

adm inistration

excellence.

The

field

lacks

licen su re

programs

several

im portant

C o m m is s io n made

reco mm endations, which in c l u d e d e s t a b l i s h i n g a n a t i o n a l p o l i c y board
fo r educational
programs a f t e r

adm inistration,
those

of other

modeling a d m i n i s t r a t i v e p r e p a r a t i o n
professional

schools,

and r e f o r m i n g

1 i c e n s u r e programs.
The Commission recommended t h a t
s u b s t a n t i a l l y reformed.
do,

the

C o m m is s io n

licensure

Concerning what s t a t e
recomme nd ed

that

pr ograms

should

policymakers

each

state

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e l i c e n s u r e board w i t h t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o

be

s h o u ld

have

an

i s s u e and

rev o ke l i c e n s e s , and t h a t te m p o ra r y o r emergency l i c e n s e s s h o u ld n o t
be g r a n t e d .

It

also

recommended

entry-level

and

fully

licensed

32
status.

The e n t r y - l e v e l

l i c e n s e would be g r a n t e d

after

co m p le ti o n

o f a s t a t e - a p p r o v e d program, b u t b e f o r e p r o f e s s i o n a l p r a c t i c e .

Full

1 i c e n s i n g would be g r a n t e d o n l y a f t e r t h e c a n d i d a t e had documented
s u c c e s s f u l pe r f o r m a n c e i n a f u l l - t i m e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e p o s i t i o n f o r a t
le a st 3 years.

Also recommended was t h a t 1i c e n s e s be i s s u e d f o r a

specific

o f time

period

and t h a t

they

be p o r t a b l e

from s t a t e

to

state.
Forsyth

(1987) c i t e d mixed r e a c t i o n s

r e p o r t , Le a de rs f o r A m er ic a’ s S c h o o l s .
saying,

"Some

have

called

sensible

and t i m e l y .

rep o rt:

’ not

M ississippi

even

the

On t h e
old

R iv e r w a t e r

He qu ote d Gibboney (1987) as

recommendations
other

wine

in

hand,

new

in c a n s ’ " (p.

t h o s e who a r e f am il i a r w i t h e d u c a t i o n a l
to

agree t h a t the

that

it

programs

is

profession

impossible

under

to

co nditions
that

is

of

one

b o ttles;
3).

the

of

labeled

it

more

is

the
1 ike

F o r s y t h con cl ud ed t h a t

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a r e i n c l ined

quality

He i n d i c a t e d

professional-preparation

unsequenced
careful

Commission

critic

in need o f r e f o r m .

have

lack

t o t h e Commission’ s 1987

course

monitoring

o fferin g s
for

quality

in

disjointed

segments

or

relevance.

He s u g g e s t e d t h a t e d u c a t o r s f i r s t must a g r e e on what i t

i s t h a t s ch oo l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s s h ou ld know and be a b l e t o do.

A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Ex am in at io n s
A ttem pts
achievement

to

date

measure
back w e ll

human
over

ch aracteristics

100 y e a r s .

Buros

and

school

published

his

f i r s t mental measurement y e a r b o o k in 1938 ( P a n i t z , 197 1).
For t h e formal p h a s e s , 1 i k e p e r s o n n e l s e l e c t i o n and p er fo rm an ce
e v a l u a t i o n , a g oo d d e a l o f r e s e a r c h and e x p e r i e n c e i s

33
available.
Every e x e c u t i v e in i n d u s t r y t h e s e d ays i s aware o f
p e rso n a lity t e s t s , patterned interv iew s, p e rso n n e l-ra tin g
for ms, and t h e l i k e .
U n de rl y in g each o f t h e s e i s a l a r g e ( b u t
n o t l a r g e enough) body o f t h e o r y and e m p i r i c a l r e s e a r c h .
U n f o r t u n a t e l y no comp ara ble amount o f work has been done on t h e
d a y - t o - d a y problems o f a s s e s s m e n t t o h e l p t h e e x e c u t i v e make
i n c r e a s i n g l y a c c u r a t e s p o t judgments a b o u t o t h e r p e o p l e .
Even
so, some u s e f u l t h i n g s a r e coming t o be known.
So, when t h e
boss a s k s , "Well, what d i d you t h i n k o f him?" t h e e x e c u t i v e can
h o n e s t l y say something more t h a n , "He’ s a n i c e guy" o r "I d o n ’ t
1 i k e h i m . " ( L e a v i t t , 1978, p. 92)
In Le a de rs f o r A m er ic a’ s S c h o o l s ,
E x c e l 1e n c e

in

E ducational

the

National

A dm inistration

Commission on

(1987)

stated

1 i c e n s u r e s h ou ld depend on co m p le ti o n o f a s t a t e - a p p r o v e d

th at

program,

d e m o n s t r a t i o n o f knowledge and s k i l l s by p a s s i n g a " r i g o r o u s w r i t t e n
and

oral

simulated
m ere ly

e x a m i n a t i o n ,"

and

or

setting.

actual

work

accumulating

entrance

to

1icensure

s ho ul d

course

school
be

dem onstration
A cco rd ing

credits

s ho ul d

adm inistration.
required

and

of

In

approved

com petence

to

not

the

be

a

on

a

Commission,
"back

ad d itio n ,
only

in

door"

renewal
the

basis

of
of

s u c c e s s f u l p er fo r m a n ce and c o n t i n u i n g p r o f e s s i o n a l dev el o pm en t under
the q u a l ity control of th e s t a t e 1icensure board.
In t h e i r second annual s u r v e y , Gousha e t a l . (1987) found t h a t ,
in

13 s t a t e s ,

some form o f

s t a t e s more t h a n in t h e f i r s t
would

be

using

the

e x a m in a t io n
annual

adm inistrative

was

used;

report.
examination

this

was

One o f t h e s e
from

the

three
states

National

T e a c h e r s Ex am ina ti on b a t t e r y , and t h e o t h e r two would d e v e l o p t h e i r
own w r i t t e n e x a m i n a t i o n s .
that

in

planned.

o n ly

one

In t h e i r 1987 s t u d y , Gousha e t a l . found

additional

state

was

some

form

of

assessment

34
Gousha e t a l . su rv ey ed 40 l a r g e school d i s t r i c t s
study.

Fourteen

representative
for

of

res pon ded

adm inistrative

exam ination"
researchers

22

school

used

d istricts

some form o f

employment;

in

one

d istrict,

being

im plem ented

fo r the

al so

found

th at

the

assessm ent

locally

12

of

centers,

developed

from

which

a

screen in g examinations

was

NASSP-endorsed
established

the

in t h e i r 1987

a

"p r o m o ti o n a l

f i r s t tim e.

d istricts

and t h r e e

The

were

using

di s t r i c t s

assessment c e n t e r s .

had

Forty-eight

of

t h e 73 i n s t i t u t i o n s o f h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n whose p e r s o n n e l r e s p o n d e d t o
t h e s u r v e y used some form o f e x a m in a t io n as a s c r e e n i n g d e v i c e f o r
entry

in to graduate

related

to

in stitu tio n s

progr ams ;

knowledge
had added

of

one

institu tio n

educational

some kind

of

used

an e x a m i n a t i o n

adm in istratio n .

assessment

to

programs s i n c e Gousha e t a l . ’ s p r e v i o u s s u r v e y ,

th eir

Six
graduate

bringing the

total

t o 62.
In New J e r s e y ,
th at

require

standardized
developed

n o t on ly have new i n i t i a t i v e s

appli can ts
subject-area

whereby

school

for

teach er

competency
principals

implemented

certificatio n

tests,
would

been

but
be

pians

required

to

pass

have

been

to

pass

a

s t a t e - a d m i n i s t e r e d w r i t t e n e x a m in a t io n and t o undergo a managements k i l l s evaluation a t a s t a t e regional

a s s e s s m e n t c e n t e r (New J e r s e y

S t a t e Department o f E d u c a t i o n , 1986).
The

Florida

Council

on

E d u c a ti o n a l

Management

developed

a

c e r t i f i c a t i o n e x a m i n a t i o n t h a t was d e s i g n e d t o mea sur e t h e knowledge
deemed e s s e n t i a l

to

the

success

of

an e d u c a t i o n a l

manager.

e x a m i n a t i o n was d e s i g n e d t o a s s e s s knowledge in e i g h t a r e a s :

The
public

35

sc ho ol

curriculum

development,
ski 11s,

and

instruction,

management

human r e s o u r c e management and de v e l o p m e n t ,

com m unication s k i l l s ,

educational

organizational

finance

(G riffin

technology,

& Barry,

leadership

educational

19 8 6 ) .

e x a m i n a t i o n was p i l o t t e s t e d u s i n g g r a d u a t e

and

law,

and

The

certification

students

in e d u ca tio n ;

i t was t h e n f i e l d t e s t e d f o r 2 y e a r s .
A f t e r i d e n t i f y i n g and v e r i f y i n g co m p e te n c ie s t h a t a r e e s s e n t i a l
and

very

stated

im portant

that

measure

the

to

"next

m astery

vocational
step

and/or

is

adm inistrators,

the

devel opment

determ ine

need

for

Mohamed

of

test

(1983)

it em s

train in g

in

to

each

competency a r e a . "
The G e o r g ia
E valuation

Department

System s

supervision
identified

to

develop

(S ch n ittjer

the

content

o f E d u c a ti o n
a

test

& F Iippo,

knowledge

contracted
in

an

N a ti o n a l

adm inistration

1983).

that

with

G eorgia

applicant

and

educators

would

need

in

o r d e r t o f u n c t i o n as an admi ni s t r a t o r / s u p e r v i s o r in G eo r gi a school s .
The

test

covered

education,

seven

subareas:

o rg an izatio n al

and

overview

1e g a l

of

structures

leadership
in

in

ed u catio n ,

management o f sch ool o p e r a t i o n s , p e r s o n n e l management, i n s t r u c t i o n a l
supervision,

curriculum

admi n i s t r a t i o n .
adm inistration
are

now

de v e l o p m e n t ,

E ducators

who f i n i s h e d

required

to

take

and

seeking
their
the

social

in itia l

issues

Septe mber

C ertificatio n

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and s u p e r v i s i o n

( S c h n i t t j e r & FIippo,

categories

are

of ad m in istrato rs

covered:

school

certi ficatio n

co u rs ew or k a f t e r
Teacher

in

(a)

19 8 4 ) .

in
1980

Test

in

Three

b u ild in g -lev el

36
adm inistrators,

(b)

scho ol

central

d istrict

d istrict

instructional

office

staff

supervisors,

(superintendents,

and

(c)

assistant

s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s , and c u r r i c u l u m c o o r d i n a t o r s .

C o r r e l a t i o n o f Normative Data and O c c u p a t io n a l Knowledge
As e v i d e n c e d by t h e

r ev ie w o f

1i t e r a t u r e ,

the

identification

and v e r i f i c a t i o n o f o c c u p a t i o n a l co m p e te n c ie s and competency t e s t i n g
a r e n o t un iq ue t o t h e e d u c a t i o n a l f i e l d ,
a particular

age group o r g e n d e r .

outside

the

educational

between

characteristics

arena
of

n or a r e t h e y r e s t r i c t e d t o

F u r th e r m o r e ,

have

investigated

candidates

and

many r e s e a r c h e r s
the

their

correlation

performance

on

examinations.
Zook (1980) c on du ct ed a s t u d y t o i d e n t i f y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
are

signi fi can tly

exam ination.
inform ation

One
to

q u alificatio n s

correlated
of

state
and t o

Zook’ s
board

wi t h

perform ance

purposes
members

em ployees

of

was
who

the

to

on

the

provide

s t i pul a t e

American

that
CPA

useful

candidate

In stitu te

of

C e r t i f i e d P u b l i c A c c o u n ta n ts who p r e p a r e and g r a d e t h e e x a m i n a t i o n .
Zook found t h a t t h e r e was no s t a t i s t i c a l l y

significant

correlation

between p o s s e s s i o n o f a g r a d u a t e d e g r e e and s u c c e s s on any o f t h e
f o u r p a r t s o f t h e CPA e x a m i n a t i o n .

He a l s o found t h a t t h e r e was no

s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between p a s t work e x p e r i e n c e ,
i.e .,

accounting-related

t h e law,

theory,

vocational

and p r a c t i c e p a r t s

experience,

and p e r f o r m a n c e on

of the examination.

However,

Zook d i d f i n d a s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e number o f y e a r s
o f employment in p u b l i c a c c o u n t i n g and s u c c e s s on t h e a u d i t i n g p a r t

37
of

the

examination.

au diting

part

There was

of the

no s i g n i f i c a n t

exam ination

between

difference

individuals

on

the

who

had

e x p e r i e n c e t e a c h i n g a c c o u n t i n g and t h o s e who had no such e x p e r i e n c e .
Likewise,
of

no s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p was found between t h e number

credits

practice,

earned

theory,

in

various

subjects

and

performance

on

and a u d i t i n g p a r t s o f t h e CPA e x a m i n a t i o n .

d i d f i n d a p o s i t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n between c r e d i t s

earned

the
Zook

in

business

the

me dical

1 aw and p er f o rm a n ce on t h e law p a r t o f t h e e x a m i n a t i o n .
Standardized
field,

as w e l l .

certifying

examinations

are

used

in

These e x a m i n a t i o n s a r e used t o e v a l u a t e competence

o f incumbent emplo yee s, as well as o f t h o s e e n t e r i n g t h e p r o f e s s i o n .
Johnston

(1983)

com pleted

dem ographic

factors,

measured

a

by

continuing

standardized

technologi s t s .

She

a study

of

the

ed u catio n ,

certification

found

th at

relatio n sh ip s

there

and

com petence

examination
was

among

no

for

as

me dical

statistic ally

s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between t e s t s c o r e s and number o f y e a r s o f
experience

since

statistically

certificatio n .

significant

Li kewi s e ,

relationship

between t e s t

th ere

was

scores

no

and t h e

number o f c o n t i n u i n g e d u c a t i o n c r e d i t s comp leted s i n c e c e r t i f i c a t i o n
and t e s t s c o r e s .
Beac h

(1985)

o c c u p a ti onal
vocational
vocational

in v estig ated

w ork -ex p eri ence

teachers

and

their

the

relatio n sh ip s

requirem ents
scores

competency e x a m i n a t i o n s .

on

of

M assachusetts

w ritten

She a l s o

between

sought

and

practical

to

determine

t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between e x a m i n a t i o n s c o r e s and t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e
and e d u c a t i o n a l

backg ro un d.

Beach found t h a t

scores

on a w r i t t e n

38

e x a m i n a t i o n were p o s i t i v e l y c o r r e l a t e d w i t h t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e ; t h e
scores

were

also

positively

level)

with

formal

correlated

educational

(significant

bac k gr ou nd .

at

However,

the

test

.05

scores

d e c r e a s e d s i i g h t l y as work e x p e r i e n c e i n c r e a s e d .
W h i te n e r
exam inations
trades,

(1980)

r ev ie w e d

scores

on

w ritten

in f o u r a r e a s - - a u t o m e c h a n ic s ,

and q u a n t i t y food p r e p a r a t i o n - - u s i n g

National

Occupational

Competency

Testing

and

p er fo rm a n ce

carpentry,

test

results

Institute

machine
from t h e

(NOCTI).

He

s tudied the r e l a t i o n s h i p of these scores to occupational experience,
teaching

experience,

and

" f o r some o c c u p a t i o n s ,
o c c u p a ti onal
experience,

there

com petence
educational

For exam ple ,

is

lev el.

1i t t l e

and o c c u p a t i o n a l
level

and

educational

experience,

level

wri t t e n ,

did not

1ength

their

W hitener

exam inations,

years

did

or

to tal

find

th at,

of occupational

found

experience,

aggregate"

that

between
teaching

(p p.

159-60).

he found t h a t l e n g t h o f

teaching

significantly

perform ance,

com parison,

of

W hi te n er

o r no r e l a t i o n s h i p

in q u a n t i t y food p r e p a r a t i o n ,

o c c u p a ti onal

or

educational

experience,

influence p a s s /fa il
exami n a t i on
on

the

levels

scores.

auto

and

In

m echanics

e x p e r i e n c e was p o s i t i v e l y

and

s i g n i f i c a n t l y c o r r e l a t e d w i t h p er f or m a n ce b u t n o t w it h s c o r e s on t h e
w r itte n examination.
To d e t e r m i n e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between o c c u p a t i o n a l
educational

lev el,

and

teaching

experience,

Boras

experience,

(1985)

studied

e x a m i n a t i o n s c o r e s on t h e NOCTI’ s com puter t e c h n o l o g y e x a m i n a t i o n s .
He

found

no

statistic ally

sig n ifican t

co rrelatio n

between

39
occupational
and

the

experience,

p ass/fail

educational

level

on

level,

w ritten ,

or teaching

experience

perform ance,

or

to tal

examinations.
A ustin

(1985)

studied

the

job

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s in h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n .

satisfactio n

of

m id-level

P e r s o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f 260

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s a t a l a r g e r e s e a r c h u n i v e r s i t y were compared t o t h e i r
job

satisfaction.

predictors

of job

Age was

satisfaction

more s a t i s f i e d ) .
more

satisfied

found

It
th a n

to

(older

was f o ll o w e d
men)

and

be

the

adm inistrators

by g e n d e r

number

strongest

of

of

tended

(women were

years

of

three
to

be

somewhat

employment

(no

s ig n if i c a n t re la tio n s h ip to s a t i s f a c t i o n ) .
E h i n g e r and G uier (1985) found t h a t g e n d e r made a d i f f e r e n c e in
a sse ssm e n t-c e n te r perform ance.

T h e i r p o p u l a t i o n c o m p r i s e d 103

school a d m i n i s t r a t o r s , o f whom 74 were men and 29 were women.
scored

h i g h e r th a n men on t h e

in-basket

exercise

and

Women

leaderless-

gr oup d i s c u s s i o n , and t h e y d i d s i g n i f i c a n t l y b e t t e r in i n t e r p e r s o n a l
competency

and o r a l

presentation.

The r e s u l t s

were

corroborated

w i t h a n o n c o g n i t i v e p a p e r - a n d - p e n c i l measure o f p e r f o r m a n c e .
Summary
Paramount t o q u a l i t y e d u c a t i o n i s t h e competence o f e d u c a t i o n a l
leaders.

For

adm inistrators,
certificatio n

those
it

is

who

are

essential

requirements

responsible
that

be v a l i d

the

for

selecting

minimum

and r e l i a b l e .

school

selection

and

U nfortunately,

t h e s e r e q u i r e m e n t s t o o o f t e n a r e based on u n r e s e a r c h e d d a t a .

40
In

the

review o f

which e x a m i n a t i o n
p articu lar

literature,

several

the

were

found

s c o r e s were c o r r e l a t e d w i t h n o r m a t i v e d a t a .

im p o rta n c e were t h o s e

o f W hitener

( 1 9 8 3 ), Boras ( 1 9 8 5 ) , and Beach ( 1 9 85 ) .
outside

studies

field

of

educational

(1981),

in
Of

Johnston

Most o f t h e s e s t u d i e s were

adm inistration,

and

none

dealt

s p e c i f i c a l l y with v o c a t io n a l - te c h n i c a l education a d m i n i s t r a t i o n .
In t h e p r e s e n t s t u d y , t h e r e s e a r c h e r compared t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p
between s c o r e s on a w r i t t e n a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x a m i n a t i o n and c r i t e r i a
used by t h e MDE/V-TES i n t h e
vocational
of

adm inistrators.

education,

(b)

selection

The c r i t e r i a

ad m in istrativ e

ad m in istrativ e experience,

(d)

and a p p r o v a l
identified

o f reimbursed
were

coursew ork,

teacher c e r t i f i c a t i o n ,

t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e , and ( f ) o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .

(c)

(a )

level

years

(e ) y e a r s

of
of

CHAPTER I I I
DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Introduction
The w r i t e r ’ s p u r p o s e in c o n d u c t i n g t h i s s t u d y was t o d e t e r m i n e
the

relatio n sh ip

between

in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s )
(the

dependent

chapter,

the

explained.

F irst,

of

as

measured

the

study

the su b jects
to

types

of

norm ative

data

(the

and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s ’ knowledge in n i n e a r e a s

variable),
design

six

instrum ents

used

gather

discussed.

The h y p o t h e s e s

and

by

the

research

are described.

the
are

dependent v a r i a b l e s are p resen te d ,

data

WMVAE.

used

restated ,

In

procedures

this
are

The p r o c e d u r e s and
in
the

th is

study

are

independent

and

and t h e d a t a - a n a l y s i s t e c h n i q u e s

are explained.

Subjects
The s u b j e c t s
who

were

given

in t h i s
the

i n v e s t i g a t io n included a l l

WMVAE b e f o r e

L e a d e r s h i p Development Program
LDP c a n d i d a t e s

were

selected

participating

(LDP)

during

1986,

from a p p l i c a n t s

41

in

the

1987,

aspiring

t h e i r c r e d e n t i a l s f o r r e im b u r se m e n t a s v o c a t i o n a l
th e secondary o r postsecondary l e v e l .

63 i n d i v i d u a l s
Michigan
and 1988.
to

enhance

adm inistrators at

42
D a t a - C o l l e c t i o n P r o c e d u r e s and I n s t r u m e n t s
All

subjects

com pleted

the

Demographic

Appendix B) b e f o r e t a k i n g t h e WMVAE.
by t h e MDE/V-TES.

P ro file

Form

(see

Th is p r o f i l e form was approved

Sou rce s o f d a t a f o r t h i s s t u d y were o b t a i n e d from

F e r r i s S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y and t h e MDE/V-TES.

The c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s

on

of

the

WMVAE were

taken

from

the

Repo rt

Scores

form.

The

r e s e a r c h e r r e c e i v e d p e r m i s s i o n t o use t h e s e d a t a from t h e MDE/V-TES.
This re s e a rc h
Research

p r o j e c t was approved by t h e

Involving

Human

S ubjects

U niversity

(UCRIHS)

at

Committee on

M ichigan

State

U n i v e r s i t y ( s e e Appendix C).
The Demographic P r o f i l e Form
The Demographic P r o f i l e Form was d e s i g n e d t o c o l l e c t d a t a t h a t
a r e r e q u i r e d o f i n d i v i d u a l s d e s i r i n g t o be re im b u r s e d as v o c a t i o n a l
ad m in istrato rs.
adm inistrators
Relating
Bu reau,
"shall

to

The c r i t e r i a
are

found

Education.

1 98 2a ).

in t h e

R395.231,

A ccording

for

to

reim bursem ent

M ichigan
Rule

Rule

1
1

of

vocational

A dm in istrativ e

(3)

(L egislative

(3 )(a),

the

Rules
Service

adm inistrator

be a g r a d u a t e o f a r e c o g n i z e d c o l l e g e o r u n i v e r s i t y w i t h

m a s te r’ s degree
courses

in

the

and s h a l l

adm inistration,

vocational

education

candidates

were

a s s o c ia te ’s,
doctorate
com pleted

have co m p lete d

asked

programs"
to

b ach elo r’s,

( I te m 9 ) .

vocational

supervision,
(p.

261).

indicate

their

On

organization

the

highest

profile
degree

of

form,
earned:
or

C a n d i d a t e s were al so asked w h e t h e r t h e y

had

vocational

educational

education

sp ecialist,

g raduate-level

m a ster’ s,

and

a

education

courses

in

the

43
a d m in is tra tio n ,

s u p e r v is io n ,

and

o r g a n iz a t io n

of

v o c a tio n a l

education programs (Item 11).
Rule 1 ( 3 ) (A) a l s o s t a t e s :
be e l i g i b l e
261).

to

hold

a

valid

"[The a d m i n i s t r a t o r ]
Michigan

teacher’s

shall

h o ld o r

certificate"

(p.

Thus, c a n d i d a t e s were asked t o i n d i c a t e w h e t h e r t h e y had o r

were

elig ib le

to

hold

a valid

M ichigan

te a c h e r’s

certificate

(Item 8 ).
Rule 1 ( 3 ) (b) s t a t e s t h a t t h e a d m i n i s t r a t o r " s h a l l

have had a t

l e a s t t h r e e y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n c e in a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d / o r t e a c h i n g in
vocational
as ked

to

vocational

education
indicate

programs"

the

(p.

26 1) .

number o f y e a r s

of

Hence,

candidates

vocational

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n e x p e r i e n c e t h e y had had

teaching

(Item 12).

were
and
Rule

1 ( 3 ) (B) a l s o s t a t e s t h a t t h e a d m i n i s t r a t o r " s h a l l have had a t l e a s t
two y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l
tional

adm inistration"

experience, o th e r than te a c h in g or educa­

( p . 261 ).

C a n d i d a t e s were asked t o

t h e number o f y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l

experience

indicate

( o th e r than te a c h in g

o r e d u c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ) t h e y had had ( I te m 1 2 ) .

The W r i t t e n Michigan V o c a ti o n a l
A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Examination (WMVAE)
The WMVAE i s

a 3-hour,

criterion-referenced,

t e s t c o n s i s t i n g o f 200 m u l t i p l e - c h o i c e i t e m s .
knowledge in n i n e s k i l l
and

evaluation;

(b)

areas:

(h)

in stru ctio n al

(g) p r o f e s s i o n a l

schoo l/comm unity

relations;

I t i s used t o measure

(a) program p l a n n i n g ,
management;

management; (d) f a c i l i t i e s and eq ui pm ent ;
s t a f f de v el op me n t;

paper-and-pencil

(i)

(c)

personnel

(e ) s t u d e n t s e r v i c e s ;

relations

and

development,

(f)

and s e l f - d e v e l o p m e n t ;

business

and

financial

44
management.

The e x a m i n a t i o n i s a d m i n i s t e r e d a c c o r d i n g t o g u i d e l i n e s

p u b l i s h e d in t h e t e s t manual.
The WMVAE was d e v e l o p e d
vocational

adm inistrators

and was o v e r s e e n
co n su ltan ts,
educators.

in 1986 by a committee o f p r a c t i c i n g

from a l l

by a s e p a r a t e

vocational

levels

of

vocational

education

a d v i s o r y com mittee composed o f MDE

ad m in istrato rs,

The p r o c e s s was d i r e c t e d

and u n i v e r s i t y t e a c h e r

by two t e s t

consultants--one

from Michigan S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y and one from F e r r i s S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y .
The a d v i s o r y com mi tt ee used

a system atic

develop a t a b l e o f t e s t s p e c i f i c a t i o n s ,

and r e l a t e d

procedure

to

which i d e n t i f y t h e r e l a t i v e

em ph asis g i v e n t o each c a t e g o r y on t h e WMVAE.
on t h e n i n e c a t e g o r i e s

rating

The r e l a t i v e w e i g h t s

c o m p e te n c ie s were based on t h e

im p o r t a n c e o f t h e t a s k f o r e n t r y - l e v e l v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s and
t h e f r e q u e n c y w i t h which t h e t a s k i s pe r f o r m e d .
The t e s t - d e v e l o p m e n t p r o c e s s i n c l u d e d two i t e m - b y - i t e m r e v i e w s .
F irst,

each

item was r ev ie w e d

construction
wo rd in g ,
item

expertise,

who

and o t h e r f a c t o r s

w riter.

This

by a t
focused

least
on

one

the

person
format,

t h a t can be d e t e c t e d

review

included

such

w it h

test-

quality

of

by an e x p e r i e n c e d
factors

as

the

a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s o f r e a d i n g l e v e l s , c l a r i t y o f stems and d i s t r a c t o r s ,
clues
Second,

in

w ording,
each

it em

and

arrangem ent

of

was

r ev ie we d

the

f o c u s e d on it em c o n s i s t e n c y ,

by

item s

and

advisory

including c r e d i b i l i t y

altern ativ es.
co m m it te e,

who

of distractors,

c u r r e n c y and a c c u r a c y o f i n f o r m a t i o n , c l a r i t y o f i t e m s , v a l i d i t y o f
occupational

i n f o r m a t i o n , and b i a s e s o f i t e m s .

An in d e p e n d e n t f i e l d

r e v i e w by a s e p a r a t e gr ou p o f p r a c t i c i n g v o c a t i o n a l

adm inistrators

45
was u n d e r t a k e n t o v a l i d a t e

the fin a l

content.

T h i s re v i e w c a l l e d

f o r an a n a l y s i s o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e competency and t h e
item and f o r v a l i d a t i n g t h e c o r r e c t ans we r.
P a r t i c i p a n t s from t h e 1985 LDP p r o v i d e d i t e m - r e s p o n s e d a t a f o r
the p i l o t t e s t .
reacted

to

In a d d i t i o n

the

clarity

specific te s t directions,
sheet.

of

to completing th e t e s t ,
procedures

for

test

and f o r m a t o f t h e t e s t ,

participants

adm inistration,
i t e m s , and answer

Response d a t a from t h e p i l o t t e s t i n c l u d e d a c a l c u l a t e d item

d i f f i c u l t y o r fi- v a l u e and d i s c r i m i n a t i o n index f o r each i t e m ,
with

the

response

number
option.

am biguities

or

(or

percentage)

The r e s u l t s
inaccuracies

of

were

and

to

individuals
used

to

improve

selecting

detect
or

along
each

and

elim inate

replace

defective

items.
The

K uder-R ichardson

coefficient

in tern al

(KR-20) o f t h e WMVAE i s

co n sistency

. 8 5.

reliab ility

S t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n s r ang e

from 11.077 t o 1 3 . 4 3 , and t h e s t a n d a r d e r r o r o f measurement i s 5 . 2 .

Research Q u e s ti o n s
The f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s were a d d r e s s e d in t h i s s t u d y :
1.

I s t h e r e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between a

c a n d i d a t e ’ s e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?
2.

I s t h e r e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between a

can d idate’s

g raduate-level

coursework

supervision,

and o r g a n i z a t i o n

of vocational

h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?

in

the

ad m in istratio n ,

education

programs and

46
3.

Is t h e r e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between a

c a n d i d a t e ’ s t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t i o n and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?
4.

I s t h e r e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between a

c a n d i d a t e ’ s v o c a t i o n a l t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?
5.

I s t h e r e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between a

c a n d id a te ’s vocational

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e and

his/her

WMVAE

scores?
6.

Is t h e r e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between a

c a n d i d a t e ’ s o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?

Hypotheses
The f o l l o w i n g h y p o t h e s e s ,

s t a t e d in t h e n u l l

form, were f or m u ­

l a t e d t o g u i d e t h e a n a l y s i s o f d a t a c o l l e c t e d in t h i s s t u d y .
H y p o t h e s i s 1 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l and h i s / h e r WMVAE
scores.
H y p o t h e s i s 2 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s g r a d u a t e - l e v e l co u r s e w o r k i n t h e
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , s u p e r v i s i o n , and o r g a n i z a t i o n o f v o c a t i o n a l
e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
H y p o t h e s i s 3 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s p o s s e s s i n g o r n o t p o s s e s s i n g M i c h i ­
gan t e a c h e r c e r t i f i c a t i o n and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
H y p o t h e s i s 4 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e in
v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
H y p o t h e s i s 5 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n c e i n a d m i n i s t e r i n g
v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
H y p o t h e s i s 6 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e and
h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .

47
Independent V ariables
The s i x i n d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s were c a n d i d a t e s ’ (a )
lev el,
(d)

educational

(b) a d m i n i s t r a t i v e co u r s e w o rk , (c ) a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e ,

teacher

certific atio n ,

occupational experience.

(e)

teaching

experience,

and ( f )

I n f o r m a t i o n r e g a r d i n g t h e s e v a r i a b l e s was

c o l l e c t e d from t h e LDP p a r t i c i p a n t s ’ Demographic P r o f i l e Forms.
Dependent V a r i a b l e
The d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e
the

following nine

Evaluation;
(d)

(b)

was t h e

and

S t a f f Development;

on

s u b t e s t s : (a ) Program P l a n n i n g , Development, and

Instructional

F acilities

p a r t i c i p a n t s ’ WMVAE s c o r e s

Management;

(c )

Equipment Management;
(g)

Professional

P er s on ne l
(e )

R elations;

Management;

Student
(h)

Services;(f)

School/Community

R e l a t i o n s ; and ( i ) B u s i n e s s and F i n a n c i a l Management.
D a t a - A n a l v s i s T ec hni qu es
Several

types

of

s ta ti stical

analyses

were

performed

to

d e t e r m i n e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s and t h e
d ep en d e nt v a r i a b l e .
Package f o r t h e

The d a t a were a n a l y z e d

Social

Sciences

(SPSS,

1 98 7 ) .

e s t a b l i s h e d as t h e c r i t e r i o n f o r s t a t i s t i c a l
Both
study.

descriptive

and

inferential

using

the

The

S tatistical

.05 a l p h a was

significance.

analyses

were

used

in

the

D e s c r i p t i v e s t a t i s t i c s were employed t o p r o v i d e a p r o f i l e o f

t h e ex am in ee s,
M ultivariate
direction

and

ba se d on t h e n o r m a t i v e d a t a s e l e c t e d f o r t h e s t u d y .
reg ressio n
strength

of

analyses
the

were

used

relationship

n o r m a t iv e d a t a and p a r t i c i p a n t s ’ WMVAE s c o r e s .

to

determ ine

between

the

the

selected

48

Summary
A d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e methodology was p r o v i d e d i n t h i s c h a p t e r .
The s u b j e c t s , d a t a - c o l l e c t i o n i n s t r u m e n t s , i n d e p e n d e n t and d e p e n d e n t
v ariab les,

and

d ata-an aly sis

techniques

were

r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n s and h y p o t h e s e s were r e s t a t e d .

d iscussed.

The

CHAPTER IV
RESULTS OF THE DATA ANALYSIS
Introduction
The

researcher’s

relationship

between

p u r p os e

in

certain

n o rm a t iv e

knowledge in n i n e a r e a s ,
data

used

in

this

graduate-level
organization
certificatio n ;
occupational

study

were
in

the
the

data

Pe rs o n ne l

and

describe

The n o r m a t i v e
level;

supervision,
Michigan

adm inistrative

the

adm inistrators’

educational

pr ogr am s;

and

teacher

experience;

and

The n i n e a r e a s measured by t h e WMVAE a r e

Program P l a n n i n g , Development, and E v a l u a t i o n ;
ment;

to

adm inistration,

experience;

experience.

was

candidate’s

vocational-technical

teaching

study

as measured by t h e WMVAE.

cours ew ork
of

this

Management;

F acilities

and

I n s t r u c t i o n a l Manage­
Equipment

Management;

S t u d e n t S e r v i c e s ; S t a f f Development; P r o f e s s i o n a l R e l a t i o n s ; S c h o o l /
Community R e l a t i o n s ; and B u s in e s s and F i n a n c i a l Management.
Results

of the data

analyses

are

presented

in

this

chapter.

Normative d a t a on t h e 63 LDP p a r t i c i p a n t s i n c l u d e d in t h i s s t u d y a r e
presented
Profile

first.

Form t h a t

These
all

data

were

gathered

from

s u b j e c t s completed b e f o r e

the

taking

Demographic
the

WMVAE.

Next, c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e n i n e s u b t e s t s o f t h e WMVAE, as well
as

th eir

aggregate

correlational

scores,

are

presented.

R esults

of

the

a n a l y s e s o f t h e n o r m a t iv e d a t a and c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s

49

50
on t h e WMVAE a r e d i s c u s s e d in t h e n e x t s e c t i o n ,
of the m u ltip le re g re ssio n analyses.
eses,

as

stated

below,

f o l l o w e d by r e s u l t s

R esults of t e s t i n g the hypoth­

are discussed

in

the

last

section

of

the

chapter.
H y p o t h e s i s 1 : Th ere i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l and h i s / h e r WMVAE
scores.
H y p o t h e s i s 2 : Th ere i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s g r a d u a t e - l e v e l cou rs ew or k in t h e
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , s u p e r v i s i o n , and o r g a n i z a t i o n o f v o c a t i o n a l
e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
H y p o t h e s i s 3 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s p o s s e s s i n g o r n o t p o s s e s s i n g M i c h i ­
gan t e a c h e r c e r t i f i c a t i o n and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
H y p o t h e s i s 4 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e in
v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
H y p o t h e s i s 5 : Th ere i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n c e in a d m i n i s t e r i n g
v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
H y p o t h e s i s 6 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e and
h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
Normative Data
E d u c a t i o n a l Level
The d i s t r i b u t i o n
is,

the

of the population

by e d u c a t i o n a l

h i g h e s t d e g r e e h e l d by t h e c a n d i d a t e s

exam ination--is displayed

in Ta b le

4.1.

at

level--that

the

ti m e

Seventy-three

of the

percent

of

t h e c a n d i d a t e s met t h e minimum s t a t e r e q u i r e m e n t o f having a t l e a s t
a m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e t o be e l i g i b l e

f o r r e im b u r s e m e n t .

did not po ssess a t l e a s t a b a c h e lo r ’ s degree,
had a b a c h e l o r ’ s d e g r e e .

Less t h a n

2%

and a p p r o x i m a t e l y 25%

51
T a b l e 4 . 1 . - - D i s t r i b u t i o n o f c a n d i d a t e s by e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l .
Degree

Frequency

No d e g r e e
Bachelor’s
M aster’s
Ed. s p e c i a l i s t
Doctorate

Percent

1
16
42
2
2

Total

1.6
2 5 .4
6 6. 7
3.2
3.2

63

100.0

V o c a t i o n a l A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Coursework
The number and p e r c e n t a g e o f c a n d i d a t e s who had t a k e n g r a d u a t e level
of

courses

vocational

in t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ,
education

programs

T h i r t y - s i x o f t h e 63 c a n d i d a t e s

supervision,
are

displayed

and o r g a n i z a t i o n
in

Table

4.2.

(57.1%) had t a k e n a t l e a s t one such

e d u c a t i o n a l c o u r s e b e f o r e e n t e r i n g t h e Michigan LDP.

Ta b l e 4 . 2 . - - D i s t r i b u t i o n o f c a n d i d a t e s by v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
co ur se w or k.

A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Courses

Yes
No
T ot al

Frequency

Percent

36
27

57.1
42.9

63

100.0

Teacher C e r t i f i c a t i o n
The number o f c a n d i d a t e s w i t h t e a c h e r c e r t i f i c a t i o n i s shown in
T ab l e 4 . 3 .

A m a j o r i t y o f t h o s e examined (51 o r 81%) had a Michigan

52
teaching c e r t i f i c a t e .

Only 12 o f t h e 63 c a n d i d a t e s

(19%) d i d not

have a t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e a t t h e t i m e o f t h e e x a m i n a t i o n .
T ab le 4 . 3 - - D i s t r i b u t i o n o f c a n d i d a t e s by t e a c h e r c e r t i f i c a t i o n .

Te a ch er C e r t i f i c a t i o n

F requency

No
Yes
Tot al

Percent

12
51

19.0
81.0

63

10 0 .0

Te ac hin g Ex p e r i e n c e
D istribution
experience

is

of

shown

candidates
in

Tabl e

by

4.4.

number

of

The mean

years

of

number

of

t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e f o r t h e p o p u l a t i o n was 8 . 7 y e a r s .
group

of

exam inees

(14

or

22.2%)

was

those

w ith

teaching
years

The l a r g e s t
no

teaching

experience.

Ta b le 4 . 4 . - - D i s t r i b u t i o n o f c a n d i d a t e s by t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e .

Teach ing E xp er i en ce

No e x p e r i e n c e
1 year
2 years
3-5 years
6- 8 y e a r s
9-11 y e a r s
12-14 y e a r s
15-17 y e a r s
18-20 y e a r s
T ot al

Mean = 8 . 7 y e a r s .

Frequency

of

Percent

14
1
4
4
6
10
10
6
8

2 2 .2
1.6
6.3
6.4
9.6
15.9
15.8
9.6
12.8

63

10 0 .0

53

A d m in istra tiv e Experience
D istrib u tio n

of

the

population

by

nu m be r

of

years

of

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e i s shown in T ab l e 4 . 5 .

The mean number o f

y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e was .8 y e a r .

The l a r g e s t group

o f c a n d i d a t e s (41 o r 65.1%) had had no a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e .

Ta bl e 4 . 5 . - - D i s t r i b u t i o n o f c a n d i d a t e s by a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e .
A d m in istra tiv e Experience

Frequency

No e x p e r i e n c e
1 year
2 years
3 years
4 o r more y e a r s
Total

Percent

41
8
4
4
6

65.1
12.7
6.3
6.3
9.6

63

100.0

Mean = .8 y e a r

Occupational Experience
D istrib u tio n
occupational

of

the

population

by

nu m be r

e x p e r i e n c e i s shown in Ta b le 4 . 6 .

years of occupational

e x p e r i e n c e was 7 . 4 y e a r s .

of

years

of

The mean number o f
The l a r g e s t group

o f c a n d i d a t e s (14 o r 22.2%) had had no o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .

54
Ta b l e 4 . 6 . - - D i s t r i b u t i o n o f c a n d i d a t e s by o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .
Frequency

O c c u p a t i o n a l Ex p e r i e n c e
No e x p e r i e n c e
1 year
2 years
3- 5 y e a r s
6-8 years
9-11 y e a r s
12-14 y e a r s
15-17 y e a r s
18 o r more y e a r s
Total

Percent

14
2
5
11
7
8
4
4
8

22.2
3.2
7.9
17 .4
1 1 .2
12. 7
6.4
6.4
12. 7

63

100. 0

Mean = 7 . 4 y e a r s

C a n d i d a t e s ’ S c o r e s on t h e WMVAE
Program P l a n n i n g . Development,
and E v a l u a t i o n S u b t e s t
The d i s t r i b u t i o n o f c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e Program P l a n n i n g ,
Development,

and

Evaluation

d i s p l a y e d in T ab l e 4 . 7 .
s c o r e on t h i s

subtest

of the

WMVAE ( C a t e g o r y

Th is s e c t i o n c o n t a i n e d 30 i t e m s .

s u b t e s t was 1 8. 2

(6 0.5%).

1)

is

The mean

C a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s rang ed

from a low o f 36.7% t o a h ig h o f 83.3%.

I n s t r u c t i o n a l Management S u b t e s t
The d i s t r i b u t i o n

the

Instructional

Management s u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 2) i s shown in Ta b l e 4 . 8 .

This se c tio n

contained
(71.9 % ).
92.3%.

26

items.

of

The

candidates’

mean

score

scores

on

on

th is

subtest

was

18.7

C a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s ra n g ed from a low o f 38.5% t o a h ig h o f

55

Table 4 . 7 . --Candidates’ scores on the Program Planning, Development,
and Evaluation subtest (Category 1).
S u b t e s t Score ( i n

Frequen cy

%)

78-83
72-77
66-71
60-65
53-59
47-52
46 and below
Tota l
Mean = 18.2

Percent

1
2
20
15
14
10
1

1.6
3.2
31.7
23.8
2 2. 2
15.8
1.6

63

10 0 . 0

Standard d e v ia tio n = 2.5

Ta b l e 4 . 8 . - - C a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e I n s t r u c t i o n a l Management
s u b t e s t (C at eg o ry 2 ) .

S u b t e s t Score ( i n

Frequency

%)

90-95
84-89
78-83
72-77
66-71
60-65
59 and below
Tot al
Mean = 1 8. 7

Percent

1
11
8
14
9
14
6

1.6
17.4
1 2. 7
2 2. 2
1 4. 3
2 2. 2
9.6

63

100.0

Standard d e v i a tio n = 3 .0

P e r s o n n e l Management S u b t e s t
The d i s t r i b u t i o n

of

can d id ates’

scores

on

the

Management s u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 3) i s shown i n T a b l e 4 . 9 .
contained

26

items.

The

mean

score

on

th is

Personnel

This s e c tio n

subtest

was

1 8. 6

56
(71.4%).

Candidates’ scores ranged from a low o f 50% to a high o f

92.3%.

Ta bl e 4 . 9 . - - C a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e Pe rs on ne l Management s u b t e s t
(Category 3 ).
S u b t e s t Score ( i n %)

Frequency

90-95
84-89
78-83
72-77
66-71
60-65
53-59
52 and below
Total

Mean = 1 8 . 6

Percent

1
9
5
18
12
8
8
2

1.6
14.3
7.9
28 .6
19.0
12.7
12.7
3.2

63

100 .0

S t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n = 2. 7

F a c i l i t i e s and Equipment
Management S u b t e s t
The d i s t r i b u t i o n

of

can d id ate s’ scores

Equipment Management s u b t e s t

( C at ego ry 4)

Thi s s e c t i o n c o n t a i n e d 18 i t e m s .
13.7

(75.9%).

high o f 94.4%.

is

on t h e
shown

F acilities

and

in Ta b l e 4 . 1 0 .

The mean s c o r e on t h i s s u b t e s t was

C a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s ran g ed from a low o f 44.4% t o

a

57

Table 4 .1 0 .--Candidates’ scores on the F a c i l i t i e s and Equipment
Management subtest (Category 4).
S u b t e s t Score ( i n %)

Frequency

90-95
84-89
78-83
72-77
66-71
60-65
53-59
52 and below
Total
Mean = 13.7

Percent

2
11
23
13
7
2
3
2

3.2
17. 5
36.5
2 0 .6
11.1
3.2
4.8
3.2

63

100.0

Standard d e v ia tio n = 2.0

Student S ervices Subtest
The d i s t r i b u t i o n o f c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e S t u d e n t S e r v i c e s
subtest

( C at eg o r y

contained
(72.7%).

17

5)

items.

is

displayed

The

mean

in

score

Ta b l e
on

4.11.

this

Th is

subtest

section
was

12. 4

C a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s rang ed from a low o f 41.2% t o a high o f

94.1%.
S t a f f Development S u b t e s t
The d i s t r i b u t i o n o f c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e S t a f f Development
s u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 6) i s shown in T ab l e 4 . 1 2 .
19

items.

The

mean

score

on

this

This s e c ti o n contained

subtest

was

12.8

(67.5%).

C a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s ran ge d from a low o f 47.3% t o a high o f 94.7%.

58
Table 4 .1 1 .--C andidates’ scores on the Student Services subtest
(Category 5).
S u b t e s t S co r e ( i n

Frequency

%)

90-95
8 4-8 9
78-83
72-77
66-71
60-65
53-59
52 and below
Total
Mean = 1 2 .4

Percent

3
5
8
10
19
10
6
2

4.8
7.9
1 2. 7
15.9
30.2
15.9
9.5
3.2

63

10 0 . 0

Standard d e v ia tio n = 1.8

Ta b l e 4 . 1 2 . - - C a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e S t a f f Development s u b t e s t
(Category 6 ).

S u b t e s t S co r e ( i n

90-95
84-89
78-83
72-77
66-71
60-65
53-59
47-52
Total

Mean = 1 2 . 8

Percent

Frequency

%)

1
3
5
12
20
5
15
2

1.6
4.8
7.9
19.0
31.7
7.9
23.8
3.2

63

10 0 . 0

Standard d e v ia tio n = 1.9

Professional Relations Subtest
The
Relations

distribution
subtest

of

candidates’

( C a t e g o r y 7)

is

scores

displayed

on

the

in T a b l e

Professional
4.13.

Th is

59
s e c t i o n c o n t a i n e d 18 i t e m s .

The mean s c o r e on t h i s s u b t e s t was 14 .4

(79.8%), t h e h i g h e s t mean s c o r e f o r a l l

nine s u b t e s t s .

Candidates’

s c o r e s ran ge d from a low o f 55.6% t o a h ig h o f 94.4%.

Ta bl e 4 . 1 3 . - - C a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e P r o f e s s i o n a l R e l a t i o n s
s u b te s t (Category 7 ).

S u b t e s t Sc o re ( i n %)

Frequency

90-95
84-89
78-83
72-77
66-71
60-65
53-59
T ot al
Mean = 1 4 .4

Percent

3
12
31
12
2
2
1

4.8
1 9 .0
4 9 .2
1 9 .0
3.2
3.2
1.6

63

10 0 .0

Standard d e v ia tio n = 1 . 5

School/Community R e l a t i o n s S u b t e s t
The d i s t r i b u t i o n o f c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e School/Community
R e l a t i o n s s u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 8) i s shown in Ta bl e 4 . 1 4 .
contained

20

(62.8%).

items.

The

mean

score

on t h i s

This s e c tio n

subtest

was 1 2 .6

C a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s r a n g e d from a low o f 40% t o a high o f

85%.

B u s in e s s and F i n a n c i a l
Management S u b t e s t
The

distribution

Financial
4.15.

This

of

candidates’

Management s u b t e s t
section

(Category

contained

scores
9)

on

the

Business

is displayed

26 i t e m s . The mean s c o r e

and

in Ta bl e
on

this

60
subtest

was

subtests.

1 3 .5

(51.8%),

the

lowest

mean

score

for

all

ni n e

C a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s ran g ed from a low o f 26.9% t o a high

o f 76.9%.

T ab l e 4 . 1 4 . - - C a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e School/Community R e l a t i o n s
s u b t e s t (Category 8 ).

S u b t e s t Sc or e ( i n %)

Fr equ enc y

84-99
78-83
72-77
66-71
60-65
53-59
47-52
41-46
35-40
T ot al

Mean = 1 2 . 6

Percent

1
4
3
13
24
8
5
3
2

1.6
6.3
4.8
20 .6
38.1
12 .7
7.9
4.7
3.2

63

100 .0

Standard d e v i a tio n = 2.0

Ta b l e 4 . 1 5 . - - C a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e B u s i n e s s and F i n a n c i a l
Management s u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 9 ) .

S u b t e s t Sc or e ( i n %)

Fr equency

72-77
66-71
60-65
53-59
47-52
41-46
35-40
34 and below
Total

Mean = 1 3 .5

Standard d e v ia tio n = 2.8

Percent

1
2
14
15
8
10
11
2

1.6
3.2
2 2. 2
23.8
12. 7
1 5. 9
1 7. 4
3.2

63

100 .0

61
A g g r e g a te WMVAE S c o r e s
The d i s t r i b u t i o n o f c a n d i d a t e s ’ a g g r e g a t e s c o r e s
i s d i s p l a y e d in T a b l e 4 . 1 6 .
items.

The

mean

Candidates’ to ta l

score

on t h e WMVAE

The WMVAE c o n t a i n e d a t o t a l o f 200 t e s t
on

the

e x a m in a t io n

was

1 34 . 8

(67.4 % ).

s c o r e s ranged from a low o f 54% t o a high o f 80%.

T a b l e 4 . 1 6 . - - C a n d i d a t e s ’ a g g r e g a t e s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE.
A g g r e g a te Sco re ( i n %)

Frequency

78-83
72-77
66-71
60-65
53-59
To ta l
Mean = 13 4 .8

Percent

1
13
31
10
8

1.6
20.8
49.3
15.9
12.8

63

10 0 .0

S t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n = 11.3

C o r r e l a t i o n o f Normative Data and WMVAE S c o r e s
The

Pe ars on

r

correlation

coefficients

between

each

of

the

in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s and s u b t e s t and a g g r e g a t e s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE
a r e summarized in Tabl e 4 . 1 7 .
th ere

was a m o d e r a t e

dependent v a r i a b l e s

A s t e r i s k s i n d i c a t e t h e c e l l s on which

association

(.30 to

.49),

between

( 1 9 7 1 ).

None o f t h e c o r r e l a t i o n s

(.50

.69)

ve r y

or

strong

independent

and

according to th e ranges o u t l i n e d

by Davis
to

the

(.70

or

indicated a su b stan tial

higher)

association.

The

h i g h e s t a s s o c i a t i o n ( . 4 6 9 ) was t h a t between c a n d i d a t e s ’ ha v i n g t h r e e
o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e (ADMEXP3) and s c o r e s
t h e S t a f f Development s u b t e s t ( C at ego ry 6 ) .

on

62

Table 4 . 1 7 . --M u ltip le c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t m a trix .

C at eg o r y 1
C at eg o r y 2
C at eg o r y 3
C at eg o r y 4
C at eg o r y 5
C at eg or y 6
C at eg o r y 7
C at eg o r y 8
C at eg or y 9
WMVAE t o t a l

Note:
Key:

MITEACH

DEGREE3

ADMC0UR2

ADMEXP3

TEACHEXP3

0CCEXP2

.111
.353*
.179
.086
-.199
-.090
.148
.014
.094
.198

-.004
.126
.087
.116
-.301*
.098
-.068
.062
-.130
.018

.182
-.028
-.061
-.098
.151
.110
-.025
.097
- .0 0 7
.066

.232
.060
.073
.096
.231
.469*
.010
-.121
.145
.227

-.261
-.012
-.058
-.147
-.374*
-.006
-.189
.253
-.065
-.151

.008
.072
-.002
.012
.012
-.135
-.004
-.240
.083
-.013

A s t e r i s k i n d i c a t e s m ode rat e a s s o c i a t i o n .
MITEACH = p o s s e s s i o n o f a Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e ,
DEGREE3 = m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r , ADMC0UR2 = a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
co u rs ew o rk , ADMEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e , TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i ­
e n c e , 0CCEXP2 = 2 o r more y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .

The

point-biserial

correlation

for m u la

used

in

this

study

r e p r e s e n t s an a l g e b r a i c s i m p l i f i c a t i o n o f t h e P ea r s on product-moment
correlation

coefficient

used when X i s

fo r m u l a

( G la s s

& Hopkins,

a dichotomous v a r i a b l e .

was s e t up as a dic hot om y.

19 8 4 ) ,

which

is

Each in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e

For example,

ca n d id a te s did

( s c o r e d as

1) o r d i d n o t ( s c o r e d as 0) have a t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e .

Program P l a n n i n g , Development,
and E v a l u a t i o n S u b t e s t
A r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s was p erf or me d between c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s
on t h e

Program P l a n n i n g ,

Development,

each o f t h e in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s .
displayed

in Ta bl e 4 . 1 8 .

and

Evaluation

subtest

and

The r e s u l t s o f t h e a n a l y s i s a r e

The l a r g e s t

b e t a v a l u e was o b t a i n e d

for

63
t h e in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e (TEACHEXP3); t h i s v a l u e
was

statistic ally

sig n ifican t

at

the

.05

lev el.

Of

the

six

in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s , p o s s e s s i o n o f a Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e
was

the

one

most

closely

related

to

candidates’

scores

on

the

Program P l a n n i n g , Development, and E v a l u a t i o n s u b t e s t .

Ta bl e 4 . 1 8 . - - R e s u l t s o f m u l t i p l e r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s between i n d e ­
p e n de nt v a r i a b l e s and s c o r e s on t h e Program P l a n n i n g ,
Development, and E v a l u a t i o n s u b t e s t ( C a t e g o r y 1 ) .

Variable
0CCEXP2
ADMC0UR2
MITEACH
TEACHEXP3
ADMEXP3
DEGREE3

.8218
.2440
.0672
.0203*
.1347
.3660

.02823
.15108
.28405
- .3 06 40
.20139
- .1 3 3 33

Adj. R2 = .0993

R2 = .1865
Key:

Sig. of I

Beta

fi = .0629

MITEACH = p o s s e s s i o n o f a Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e ,
DEGREE3 = m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r , ADMC0UR2 = a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
co ur s ew or k, ADMEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e , TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i ­
en c e , 0CCEXP2 = 2 o r more y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .
* S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

I n s t r u c t i o n a l Management S u b t e s t
A r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s was p erf orm ed between c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s
on t h e I n s t r u c t i o n a l Management s u b t e s t and each o f t h e
variables.

The

4.19.

largest

variable

The

Michigan

results

of

beta

teaching

this

value

analysis
was

are

obtained

certificate

displayed
for

(MITEACH);

s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

in d e p e n d e n t

the
this

in

Tabl e

in d e p e n d e n t
value

was

64
Table 4 .1 9 .--R esults o f m u ltip le regression analysis between inde­
pendent v a ria bles and scores on the In s tru c tio n a l
Management subtest (Category 2).
Variable

.08328
- .0 8 9 1 8
.48615
- .0 8 1 3 6
.15924
- .1 2 4 1 5

0CCEXP2
ADMC0UR2
MITEACH
TEACHEXP3
ADMEXP3
DEGREE3
R2 = .1748
Key:

Sig. of I

Beta

.5101
.4930
.0025*
.5313
.2385
.4030

j) = .0843

Adj. R2 = .0864

MITEACH = p o s s e s s i o n o f a Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e ,
DEGREES = m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r , ADMC0UR2 = a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
c o u r s e w o r k , ADMEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e , TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i ­
e n c e , 0CCEXP2 = 2 o r more y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .
* S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

P e rs o n n e l Management S u b t e s t
A r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s was performed between c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s
on t h e

Personnel

Management

variables.

The

4.20.

largest

The

results
beta

of

subtest
this

value

analysis
was

v a r i a b l e Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e
significant

relationship

was

and

each

of

are

obtained

in d e p e n d e n t

displayed
for

(MITEACH).

found between

the

the

Tabl e

in d e p e n d e n t

No s t a t i s t i c a l l y

any o f t h e

v a r i a b l e s and c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h i s s u b t e s t .

in

in d e p e n d e n t

65
Table 4 .2 0 .--R esults o f m u ltip le regression an alysis between inde­
pendent varia bles and scores on the Personnel
Management subtest (Category 3 ).
Variable
0CCEXP2
ADMC0UR2
MITEACH
TEACHEXP3
ADMEXP3
DEGREE3
R2 = .0631
Key:

Beta

Sig. of I

-. 0 0 3 2 0
- .1 0 3 3 8
.26422
-. 0 7 4 2 9
.14007
-. 0 5 7 7 5

.9810
.4560
.1113
.5915
.3296
.7144
£ = .7065

Adj. R2 = . - . 0 3 7 3

MITEACH = p o s s e s s i o n o f a Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e ,
DEGREE3 = m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r , ADMC0UR2 = a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
c o ur s ew or k, ADMEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e , TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i ­
e n c e , 0CCEXP2 = 2 o r more y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .

F a c i l i t i e s and Equipment
Management S u b t e s t
A r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s was perfor me d between c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s
on t h e F a c i l i t i e s

and Equipment Management s u b t e s t and each o f t h e

in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s .
Table 4.21.

The r e s u l t s

of th is

variables

are

shown in

The l a r g e s t b e t a v a l u e was o b t a i n e d f o r t h e in d e p e n d e n t

v a r i a b l e Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e
significant

analysis

(MITEACH).

r e l a t i o n s h i p was found between
and

c a n d id a te s ’ scores

Management s u b t e s t .

on t h e

No s t a t i s t i c a l l y

any o f

F acilities

the

in d e p e n d e n t

and

Equipment

66
Table 4 .2 1 .--R e su lts o f m u ltip le regression analysis between inde­
pendent varia bles and scores on the F a c i l i t i e s and
Equipment Management subtest (Category 4 ).
Variable
0CCEXP2
ADMC0UR2
MITEACH
TEACHEXP3
ADMEXP3
DEGREE3
R2 = .1008
Key:

Beta

Sig. of I

.01917
- .1 3 1 0 2
.28976
- .1 6 40 3
.15445
- .0 4 3 6 5

.8843
.3357
.0755
.2289
.2730
.7776

Adj. £ 2 = .0045

fi = .4057

MITEACH = p o s s e s s i o n o f a Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e ,
DE6REE3 = m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r , ADMC0UR2 = a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
c o u r s e w o r k , ADMEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e , TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i ­
e n c e , 0CCEXP2 = 2 o r more y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .

Student S ervices Subtest
A r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s was perfor me d between c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s
on

the

S tudent

S ervices

variables.

The r e s u l t s

The l a r g e s t

beta

teaching

of th is

(TEACHEXP3).
.05 l e v e l .

and

analysis

v a l u e was o b t a i n e d

experience

s i g n i f i c a n t a t the

subtest

for
Th is

each

of

the

independent

a r e shown in T a b l e 4 . 2 2 .
the

independent

value

was

variable

statistically

Holding a m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r

(DEGREE3) was a l s o s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

67
Table 4 .2 2 .--R e sults o f m u ltip le regression analysis between inde­
pendent v a ria b le s and scores on the Student Services
subtest (Category 5).
Variable

Beta

0CCEXP2
ADMC0UR2
MITEACH
TEACHEXP3
ADMEXP3
DEGREE3

.00769
.13818
.07662
- .3 85 93
.13720
- .3 26 89

.9480
.2573
.5946
.0023*
.2765
.0210*

Adj. R2 = .2027

R2 = ,2798
Key:

Sig. of I

£ = .0041

MITEACH = p o s s e s s i o n o f a Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e ,
DEGREE3 = m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r , ADMC0UR2 = a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
c o u r s e w o r k , ADMEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e , TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i ­
e n c e , 0CCEXP2 = 2 o r more y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .
* S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

S t a f f Development S u b t e s t
A r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s was pe rf or me d between c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s
on

the

S taff

Development

variables.

The r e s u l t s

The l a r g e s t

beta

adm inistrative

subtest

of th is

analysis

v a l u e was o b t a i n e d

experience

(ADMEXP3);

s i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

and

for
this

each

of

the

in d e p e n d e n t

a r e shown in T a b l e 4 . 2 3 .
the

in d e p e n d e n t

value

was

variable

statistically

68
Table 4 .2 3 .--R esults o f m u ltip le regression analysis between inde­
pendent varia bles and scores on the S t a f f Development
subtest (Category 6).
Variable

Beta

OCCEXP2
ADMC0UR2
MITEACH
TEACHEXP3
ADMEXP3
DEGREE3

- .2 2 03 2
- .0 0 3 6 3
- .0 9 4 5 9
.13206
.51018
.14012

R2 = .2900
Key:

Sig. of I

.0638
.9760
.5085
.2751
.0001*
.3096

Adj. R2 = .2140

£ = .0030

MITEACH = p o s s e s s i o n o f a Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e ,
DEGREE3 = m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r , ADMC0UR2 = a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
c o u r s e w o rk , ADMEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e , TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i ­
e n c e , 0CCEXP2 = 2 o r more y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .
* S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

P rofessional R elations Subtest
A r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s was perfor me d between c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s
on t h e

Professional

Relations

variables.

The r e s u l t s

The l a r g e s t

beta

M ichigan

subtest

of th is

analysis

v a l u e was o b t a i n e d

teaching

and each o f t h e

certificate

for

a r e shown in T a b l e 4 . 2 4 .
the

(MITEACH);

s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

in d e p e n d e n t

independent
th is

variable

value

was

69
Table 4 .2 4 .--Results o f m u ltip le regression analysis between inde­
pendent varia bles and scores on the Professional Rela­
tio n s subtest (Category 7).
Variable

Beta

0CCEXP2
ADMC0UR2
MITEACH
TEACHEXP3
ADMEXP3
DEGREE3

.01629
-.04 8 03
.34957
-.25 2 33
.04354
- .2 5 5 1 8

R2 = .1183
Key:

Sig. of I
.9006
.7205
.0314*
.0639
.7538
.0994

Adj. R2 = .0239

E = .2942

MITEACH = p o s s e s s i o n o f a Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e ,
DEGREE3 = m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r , ADMC0UR2 = a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
c o u r s e w o r k , ADMEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e , TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i ­
e n c e , 0CCEXP2 = 2 o r more y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .
* S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

School/Community R e l a t i o n s S u b t e s t
A r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s was performed between c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s
on

the

School/Community

R elations

su b test

and

independent v a r i a b l e s .

The r e s u l t s o f t h i s

analysis

in

largest

was

Ta b l e

4.25.

The

beta

value

each

of

the

are displayed

obtained

for

the

in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e (TEACHEXP3); t h i s v a l u e was
s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

70
Table 4 .2 5 .--R e sults o f m u ltip le regression analysis between inde­
pendent va ria b le s and scores on the School/Community
Relations subtest (Category 8 ).
Variable

Beta

0CCEXP2
ADMC0UR2
MITEACH
TEACHEXP3
ADMEXP3
DEGREE3

.0527
.5287
.2996
.0327*
.5595
.3939

- .2 51 43
.08286
-. 1 6 2 2 7
.28604
- .0 7 9 3 6
.12801

R2 = .1561
Key:

Sig. of I

Adj. R2 = .0657

fi = .1317

MITEACH = p o s s e s s i o n o f a Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e ,
DEGREE3 = m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r , ADMC0UR2 = a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
c o u r s e w o r k , ADMEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e , TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i ­
e n c e , 0CCEXP2 = 2 o r more y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .
* S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

B u s in e s s and F i n a n c i a l
Management S u b t e s t
A r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s was perfor me d between c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s
on t h e

B u s in e s s

and

in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s .
Ta bl e 4 . 2 6 .
variable

Financial

Management

The r e s u l t s

subtest

of th is

and each

analysis

o f the

a r e shown in

The l a r g e s t b e t a v a l u e was o b t a i n e d f o r t h e in d e p e n d e n t

Michigan

teaching

certificate

(MITEACH);

s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

this

value

was

71
Table 4 .2 6 .--R esults o f m u ltip le regression analysis between inde­
pendent v a ria bles and scores on the Business and
Financial Management subtest (Category 9 ).
V ariable

Beta

0CCEXP2
ADMC0UR2
MITEACH
TEACHEXP3
ADMEXP3
DEGREE3

.05441
- .0 82 50
.32788
- .0 925 7
.20323
- .2 98 20

R2 = .1009
Key:

Sig. of I
.6782
.5413
.0440*
.4930
.1488
.0563

Adj. R2 = .0145

p = .3448

MITEACH = p o s s e s s i o n o f a Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e ,
DEGREE3 = m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r , ADMC0UR2 = a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
co ur s ew or k, ADMEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e , TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i ­
en c e , 0CCEXP2 = 2 o r more y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .
* S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

A g g r e g a te WMVAE S c o r e s
A regression

analysis

was

performed

between

can d id ates’

a g g r e g a t e s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE and each o f t h e i n d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s .
The r e s u l t s o f t h i s a n a l y s i s
beta

value

teaching

was

obtained

certific ate

experience

for

(ADMEXP3).

Both

WMVAE s c o r e

statistic ally
correlations

and

sig n ifican t
reported

the

in d e p e n d e n t

(MITEACH),

s i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .
aggregate

a r e shown in Ta b l e 4 . 2 7 .

as

of

follow ed

these

values

The l a r g e s t

variable
by

Michigan

adm inistrative

were

statistically

However, t h e c o r r e l a t i o n between t h e
the
(p. =

independent
.1006).

statistically

s h o u ld be c o n s i d e r e d w i t h r e s e r v a t i o n .

v ariab les

T herefore,

significant

in

was

not

all

other

this

s tu d y

72
T a b l e 4 . 2 7 . - - R e s u l t s o f m u l t i p l e r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s between i n d e ­
p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s and a g g r e g a t e s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE.
Beta

Variable

- .0 232 2
- .0 15 30
.40059
- .1 785 6
.28747
-.18 9 26

0CCEXP2
ADMC0UR2
MITEACH
TEACHEXP3
ADMEXP3
DEGREE3
R2 = .1676
Key:

Sig. of I
.8547
.9066
.0118*
.1742
.0366*
.2062

Adj. R2 = .0784

£ = .1006

MITEACH = p o s s e s s i o n o f a Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e ,
DEGREE3 = m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r , ADMC0UR2 = a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
c o u r s e w o r k , ADMEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e , TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i ­
e n c e , 0CCEXP2 = 2 o r more y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .
* S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

R e s u l t s o f t h e S t e p w is e M u l t i p l e R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y s i s
A s t e p w i s e e n t r y p r o c e s s was used t o v e r i f y t h e i m p o r ta n c e o f
each v a r i a b l e l i s t e d
at

. 05 ;

all

in T a b l e 4 . 1 8 .

variables

e x c e e d in g

The s i g n i f i c a n c e l e v e l was s e t
that

lim it

were

excluded.

The

f o l l o w i n g t a b l e s show t h e r e s u l t s o n ly f o r t h o s e s u b t e s t s c o r e s and
in d e p e n d e n t
exce ed . 0 5 .

variables

whose

significance

levels

did

no t

reach

or

T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n s ho ul d be c o n s i d e r e d w it h r e s e r v a t i o n

because th e r e s u l t of th e m u ltip le r e g r e s s io n a n a l y s i s

between t h e

i n d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s and t h e c a n d i d a t e s ’ a g g r e g a t e WMVAE s c o r e s was
not s t a t i s t i c a l l y s ig n if i c a n t.

73
Program Planning. Development,
and Evaluation Subtest
The r e s u l t s
the

of the

Program P la n n i n g ,

displayed

in Tabl e 4 . 2 8 .

stepwise m u ltip le
D evelopm ent,

and

regression

analysis

for

E valuation

su b test

are

T ea chi ng e x p e r i e n c e

(TEACHEXP3) was t h e

o n ly v a r i a b l e t h a t was s i g n i f i c a n t l y c o r r e l a t e d w i t h s c o r e s on t h i s
subtest.

Ta b l e 4 . 2 8 . - - R e s u l t s o f s t e p w i s e m u l t i p l e r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s
between in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s and s c o r e s on t h e
Program P l a n n i n g , Development, and E v a l u a t i o n s u b t e s t
( C at ego ry 1 ) .
Variable

- .2 6 1 0 9

TEACHEXP3

Key:

Sig. of I

Beta

.0387*

TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e .
A d j u s t e d R2 = .05289

R2 = .06817

fi = .0387

* S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

I n s t r u c t i o n a l Management S u b t e s t
The r e s u l t s
the

Instructional

Michigan

teaching

of the

stepwise m u ltip le

Management
certificate

v a r i a b l e t h a t was s i g n i f i c a n t l y
on t h i s s u b t e s t .

subtest
(MITEACH)

regression

are
was

correlated

shown

in

the

only

analysis
Tabl e

for

4.29.

in d e p e n d e n t

with c a n d id a te s ’ scores

74
Table 4 .2 9 .--Results o f stepwise m u ltip le regression analysis
between independent variables and scores on the
In s tru c tio n a l Management subtest (Category 2).

Key:

Variable

Beta

Sig. of T

MITEACH

.35269

.0046^

MITEACH = p o s s e s s i o n o f a Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e .
R2 = .12439

A d ju s te d R2 = .11004

£ = .0046

♦ S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .
Student S ervices Subtest
Results of the
S tudent

Services

stepwise m u ltip le
su b test

are

regression

displayed

in

analysis

Table

for

4.30.

the
Two

i n d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s were found t o have a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t
relationship
experience

to

candidates’

(TEACHEXP3) had t h e

scores

on

strongest

this

subtest.

relationship,

Teaching
followed

by

p o s s e s s i o n o f a m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r (DEGREE3).

Table 4 . 3 0 . - - R e s u lt s of stepw ise m u ltip le re g r e s s io n a n a l y s i s
between in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s and s c o r e s on t h e
S t u d e n t S e r v i c e s s u b t e s t (C at eg o r y 5 ) .

V ariable

TEACHEXP3
DEGREE3

Key:

Beta

Sig. of I

- .3 7 67 5
- .3 0 43 2

.0015^
.0092^

TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e ,
DEGREE3 = m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r .
R2 = .23228

A d j u s t e d R2 = .20669

♦ S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

fi = .004

75
S t a f f Development Subtest
Results of the

stepwise m u ltip le

regression

S t a f f Development s u b t e s t a r e shown i n T a b l e 4 . 3 1 .
variable,

analysis

for

the

One in d e p e n d e n t

a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e (ADMEXP3), was found t o have a

s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p t o c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h i s
subtest.

Table 4 . 3 1 . - - R e s u lts of stepwise m u ltip le re g re s s io n a n a ly sis
between in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s and s c o r e s on t h e
S t a f f Development s u b t e s t ( C a t e g o ry 6 ) .

Key:

Variable

Beta

ADMEXP3

.46859

Sig. c f I

.0001*

ADMEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e .
A d j u s t e d R2 = .20678

R2 = .21957

£ = .0001

* S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

School/Community R e l a t i o n s S u b t e s t
R esults

of the

stepwise m u ltip le

regression

analysis

for

the

School/Community R e l a t i o n s s u b t e s t a r e d i s p l a y e d in Tabl e 4 . 3 2 .

Two

independent

and

occupational

variab les,
experience

teaching

experience

(0CCEXP2),

were

(TEACHEXP3)
found

to

have

a

s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p t o c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h i s
subtest.

76
Table 4 .3 2 .--Results o f stepwise m u ltip le regression analysis
between independent variables and scores on the
School/Community Relations subtest (Category 8 ).
Variable

Beta

TEACHEXP3
0CCEXP2

Key:

Sig. of I

.27778
-.26 6 15

.0248*
.0312*

TEACHEXP3 = 3 o r more y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e , 0CCEXP2 =
2 o r more y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e .
R2 = .13420

A d j u s t e d R2 = .10534

fi = .0133

* S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e .05 l e v e l .

R e s u l t s o f H y p o th e s is T e s t i n g
Six
between

hypotheses

were

formulated

six

types

of

n o r m a t iv e

candidates’

scores

on

the

section,

each h y p o t h e s i s

is

WMVAE

to

data

determine
(independent

(d ep en d e n t

restated,

the

relationship

variables)

v ariable).

followed

by t h e

In

and
this

results

for

th a t hypothesis.

H y p o t h e s i s 1 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l and h i s / h e r WMVAE
scores.
The

strongest

relationship

for

candidates

with

a

m aster’s

d e g r e e o r h i g h e r (DEGREE3) was w i t h s c o r e s on t h e S t u d e n t S e r v i c e s
subtest

(Category

c o e ffic ie n t of

shown

in

Ta b le

4.17.

according to th e

The

correlation

r a n g e s u sed by

Th is was a n e g a t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n , which would i n d i c a t e

candidates

lower on t h i s

as

.301 was m o d e ra te ,

Davis ( 1 9 7 1 ) .
that

5),

w it h

a m aster’s or

a more advanced d e g r e e

s u b t e s t t h a n d i d t h o s e who had l e s s

education.

scored
The

77

m ultiple

regression

results

s ta tis tic a lly significant

also

showed

that

the

association

( T ab l e 4 . 2 2 ) and had t h e second s t r o n g e s t

r e l a t i o n s h i p when s t e p w i s e r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s was p er f or m e d
4.30).

On ly

teaching

experience

(TEACHEXP3)

had

a

r e l a t i o n s h i p t o s c o r e s on t h e S t u d e n t S e r v i c e s s u b t e s t
in t h e

stepw ise

regression

c a n d id a te s ’ educational

was

analysis.

level

The

( T ab l e

stronger

( C a t e g o r y 5)

relationship

between

a

and h i s / h e r a g g r e g a t e WMVAE s c o r e was

n o t s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t (Tab le 4 . 2 7 ) .

T here fore , Hypothesis 1

was n o t r e j e c t e d .
H y p o t h e s i s 2 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s g r a d u a t e - l e v e l co u r s ew o r k in t h e
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , s u p e r v i s i o n , and o r g a n i z a t i o n o f v o c a t i o n a l
e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
The

strongest

association

co u r s ew or k in v o c a t i o n a l
on

the

Program

(C ategory

1),

relatio n sh ip
(C ategory

shown

was w i t h

5).

respectively.

These
Both

in

Table

scores
two

would

tend

co u r s ew o r k in t h e
vocational

the

coefficients

were

on

the

indicate

programs

WMVAE w e r e

Student

in

next

the

.18

range

scores
su b test

stro n g est

S ervices

were

candidates

supervision,

had

not

co m ple te d

su b test
and

.15,

described

by

Both c o r r e l a t i o n s were p o s i t i v e ,

that

S c o r e s on t h e

had

E valuation
The

co efficien ts

adm inistration,

education

t h e s e two a r e a s .
scores

to

and

4.17.

on

who

(ADMC0UR2) was w i t h

D evelopm ent,

Davis (1971) as a low a s s o c i a t i o n .
which

candidates

adm inistration

Planning,
as

for

slightly

individual

who

had

co m p le te d

and o r g a n i z a t i o n

higher

test

subtests

sig n ifican tly

scores

of
in

and a g g r e g a t e

related

to

the

78
in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e cou rs ew or k (ADMCOUR2).

Based on

t h e s e r e s u l t s , H y p o t h e s i s 2 was n o t r e j e c t e d .
H y p o t h e s i s 3 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h ip between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s p o s s e s s i n g o r no t p o s s e s s in g
Michigan t e a c h e r c e r t i f i c a t i o n and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
The

strongest

asso ciatio n

teaching c e r t i f i c a t e
Management

for

candidates

w ith

(MITEACH) was w i t h s c o r e s on t h e

subtest

(Category

coefficient

of

.353

certificate

had

siightly

2),

indicates

as

that

higher

shown

in

Instructional

Ta b le

candidates

scores

a M ichigan

4.17.

with

on t h i s

a

The

teaching

subtest

th a n

d id

those w ithout a teaching c e r t i f i c a t e .

The a g g r e g a t e t e s t s c o r e s o f

candidates

certificate

w it h

a

Michigan

teaching

had

a

positive

c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t o f al m o s t

.02 ( T ab l e 4 . 1 7 ) .

were

between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s having

sig n ifican t

relatio n sh ip s

A1though t h e r e
a

Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e and hi s / h e r s c o r e s on two s u b t e s t s and
the

a g g r e g a t e WMVAE,

significant.

the

overall

com parison was

not

statistically

Thus, H y p o t h e s i s 3 was n o t r e j e c t e d .

H y p o t h e s i s 4 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s y e a r s o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e
in
v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
The s t r o n g e s t
years

of teaching

relationship
experience

fo r cand idates with

in

vocational education

w i t h s c o r e s on t h e S t u d e n t S e r v i c e s s u b t e s t
in T a b l e 4 . 1 7 .
that

candidates

te n d e d

to

score

three

o r more

programs

(Category 5),

was

as shown

The m o d e ra te n e g a t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n o f - . 3 7 4 i n d i c a t e s
with

three

or

lo w er on t h e

more y e a r s
Student

w i t h o u t t h a t amount o f e x p e r i e n c e .

of

Services

teaching
subtest

experience
than

those

The n e x t h i g h e s t c o r r e l a t i o n was

79

a m o d e ra te one w i t h s c o r e s on t h e Program P l a n n i n g , Development, and
E v a l u a t i o n ( C a t e g o r y 1) and School/Community R e l a t i o n s

( C a t e g o r y 8)

subtests.
A s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p was found between t h e
i n d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e (TEACHEXP3) and c a n d i d a t e s ’
s c o r e s on t h e S t u d e n t S e r v i c e s s u b t e s t ( T ab l e 4 . 2 2 ) .

Results of the

regression

statistic ally

analysis

indicated

there

was

also

a

s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p between t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e and c a n d i d a t e s ’
scores

on

the

Program

Planning,

School/Community R e l a t i o n s
overall

Development,

subtests.

However,

com parison were n o t s t a t i s t i c a l l y

and

Evaluation

and

the

results

the

significant.

of

Therefore,

H y p o t h e s i s 4 was no t r e j e c t e d .

H y p o th e s is 5 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s y e a r s o f e x p e r i e n c e in a d m i n i s t e r i n g
v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
As
found

shown

between

in

Tabl e

the

4.17,

in d e p e n d e n t

a mo de rat e

correlation

of

variable

adm inistrative

.469

was

experience

( t h r e e o r more y e a r s o f experience--ADMEXP3) and c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s
on

the

S taff

suggests th a t
S taff

Development
experienced

Development

experience.

subtest

(Category

adm inistrators

su b test

than

A statistically

did

6).

had h i g h e r

Th is

finding

scores

on t h e

adm in istrato rs

significant

difference

w ith
(.0001)

less
was

found between c a n d i d a t e s w i t h t h r e e o r more y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e and t h o s e w it h l e s s e x p e r i e n c e .
the

overall

com parison

were

not

However, t h e r e s u l t s o f

statistic ally

T h e r e f o r e , H y p o th e s is 5 was n o t r e j e c t e d .

sig n ifican t.

80

H y p o t h e s i s 6 : There i s no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n ­
s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s y e a r s o f o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e and
h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s .
As shown in T ab l e 4 . 1 7 , c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on f i v e o f t h e n i n e
subtests

had

a n eg lig ib le

asso ciatio n

(.01

in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e o c c u p a t i o n a l

experience

four

low

co rrelatio n s

coefficient

for

aggregate

m ultiple regression
relationship
variable.

were

between

in

the
test

analyses
the

range

scores

indicated

in d e p e n d e n t

was

to

.09)

w ith

(OCCEXP2).
(.10

to

The o t h e r
.29).

-.013.

None

a statistically
variables

and

the

The
of

the

significant

the

dep en d en t

T h e r e f o r e , H y p o th e s is 6 was not r e j e c t e d .
Summary

Results

of

the

data

p r e s e n t e d in t h i s c h a p t e r .
to

determ ine

the

ad m in istrativ e
experience,

coursew ork,

v ariab les)

(dependent v a r i a b l e ) .

con du ct ed

for

this

study

were

S ix h y p o t h e s e s were t e s t e d in an a t t e m p t

relatio n sh ip

adm inistrative

(independent

analyses

between

teacher

experience,
and

educational

lev el,

certificatio n ,

teaching

and o c c u p a t i o n a l

experience

candidates’

scores

on

the

None o f t h e h y p o t h e s e s was r e j e c t e d .

WMVAE

CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Th is s tu d y was u n d e r t a k e n t o a s s e s s t h e s t r e n g t h and d i r e c t i o n
of

the

level,

relationship

between

graduate-level

teaching

certain

vocational

experience,

normative

co u r s e w o r k ,

adm inistrative

data

(educational

teacher c e r tif ic a tio n ,

experience,

and

occupational

e x p e r i e n c e ) and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s ’ knowledge in n i n e a r e a s , a s measured
by t h e WMVAE.
The need f o r ex em pl ary sch ool
ever.

Numerous

improve t h e
pr o pos ed

for

article

in

reform

quality

of

students,
the

June

movements
education.
teachers,

1989

issu e

leaders
have

i s as c r i t i c a l

arisen

Increased
and
of

in

an

standards

to d a y as

attempt
have

been

The

lead

adm inistrators.
U pdate,

to

published

by

the

A s s o c i a t i o n f o r S u p e r v i s i o n and C u r r ic u l u m Development, was e n t i t l e d
"Tougher S t a n d a r d s Urged f o r School A d m i n i s t r a t o r s "
Among o t h e r c r i t e r i a ,

(O’ N e i l ,

1989).

t h e s e i n c r e a s e d s t a n d a r d s i n c l u d e "a n a t i o n a l

e x a m i n a t i o n b e f o r e b e i n g l i c e n s e d " (p. 1 ) .
In v o c a t i o n a l - t e c h n i c a l
as b e i n g e s s e n t i a l

e d u c a t i o n , work e x p e r i e n c e i s a c c e p t e d

for teacher c e r tif ic a tio n

i n most s t a t e s .

e x p e r i e n c e has been t h e c o r n e r s t o n e o f c e r t i f i c a t i o n
t e a c h e r s s i n c e t h e Smith-Hughes Act o f 1917.

81

Work

fo r vocational

The q u e s t i o n

o f how

82
much work e x p e r i e n c e i s n e c e s s a r y has p l a gu ed v o c a t i o n a l
for years.

Some have assumed t h a t t h e more e x p e r i e n c e one has

the f i e l d ,

th e b e t t e r q u a l i f i e d t h a t person w ill

skills.

educators

Is t h i s

im portant

are

true

fo r vocational

occupational

work

be t o t e a c h t h o s e

adm inistrators

experience

in

and

as w e l l ?

other

How

specified

c r e d e n tia lin g c r i t e r i a to the f i e l d of vocational adm in istratio n ?
The

i m p o r ta n c e

of

some o f t h e s e

criteria

w it h

regard

to

f i e l d o f e d u c a t i o n was r e v e a l e d in t h e r e v i e w o f l i t e r a t u r e .
(1985),
focus

Boras (1 98 5) ,
for

Beach

and W h i te n er (1981) b r o u g h t t h e s e i s s u e s

vocational

teach ers.

Several

h i g h l i g h t e d t h a t co n ce r n ed e d u c a t i o n a l

studies

adm inistration.

the

were

into
also

However,

no

s t u d i e s were found in which t h e r e s e a r c h e r f o c u s e d s p e c i f i c a l l y

on

vocational a d m in istrato rs.
The l a c k o f s t u d i e s a d d r e s s i n g t h e s e r e l a t i o n s h i p s ,
in v o c a t i o n a l
this

area.

adm inistration,

u n d e r s c o r e s t h e need f o r r e s e a r c h

By e x p l o r i n g t h e s e r e l a t i o n s h i p s ,

expand t h e knowledge b as e a v a i l a b l e
identifying,

promulgating,

and c e r t i f i c a t i o n

especially

to

requirem ents.

the w r i t e r sought to

individuals

and m o n i t o r i n g

responsible

adm inistrative

Information

in

on t h e

for

selection

relationships

between t h e s e l e c t e d n o r m a t i v e d a t a and s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE s ho ul d
be

useful

to

people

in

local,

state,

and

national

organizations

a d v o c a t i n g more r i g o r o u s s t a n d a r d s f o r school a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

Procedures
Subjects

for

this

investigation

were

all

63

individuals

who

t o o k t h e WMVAE b e f o r e p a r t i c i p a t i n g in t h e Michigan LDP d u r i n g 1986,

83
1987, and 1988.

All s u b j e c t s com p le te d t h e Demographic P r o f i l e Form

b e f o r e t a k i n g t h e WMVAE.

Data f o r t h e s t u d y were s u p p l i e d by F e r r i s

S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y and t h e MDE/V-TES.
D e s c r i p t i v e - i n f o r m a t i o n was
the

can d id ates’

coursework,

educational

reported

lev el,

teacher c e r t i f i c a t i o n ,

tiv e experience,
inferential

and o c c u p a t i o n a l

to

present

a profile

of

g raduate-level

vocational

teaching experience,

adm inistra­

experience.

Both d e s c r i p t i v e and

s t a t i s t i c s were used in a n a l y z i n g t h e d a t a .

Findings
D escriptive

statistics

were

used

to

determine

whether

the

c a n d i d a t e s met t h e minimum c r i t e r i a f o r r ei m bu rse me nt as v o c a t i o n a l
a d m i n i s t r a t o r s in M ichigan.
or higher degree.
degree.

course

in

vocational
minimum

One examinee d i d

Fifty-one

certificate.

Of t h e 63 c a n d i d a t e s , 42 had a m a s t e r ’ s

of

the

n o t have even a b a c c a l a u r e a t e

candidates

possessed

a

teaching

T h i r t y - s i x o f t h e 63 c a n d i d a t e s had t a k e n a t l e a s t one
the

adm inistration,

education

requirement

supervision,

program s.

of

3

years

F orty -fo u r
of

teaching

and

organization

candidates
experience,

met
and

of
the
10

c a n d i d a t e s met t h e minimum r e q u i r e m e n t o f 3 y e a r s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
experience.

Forty-seven

candidates

had

had

2 or

more

years

of

occupational experience.
C and idates’
Candidates
with

scored

mean

score

highest

on

on
the

the

to tal

Professional

a mean s c o r e o f a p p r o x i m a t e l y 80%.

WMVAE

was

R elations

67.4%.
subtest,

The l o w e s t mean s c o r e - -

84
approximately

52%--was on

t h e B u s in e s s

and

Financial

Management

subtest.
The r e s u l t s o f t h e i n f e r e n t i a l s t a t i s t i c a l
the

research questions arediscussed

Each

question

is

restated,

in t h e

f o ll o w e d

by

an aly se s r e l a t i v e to
following

the

paragraphs.

findings

for

that

question.
Research Q u es tio n 1 :
r e l a t i o n s h i p between
h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?

Is t h e r e
a statistically
significant
a c a n d i d a t e ’ s e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l and

R e g r e s s io n a n a l y s i s r e v e a l e d a n e g l i g i b l e p o s i t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n
between WMVAE s c o r e s

and c a n d i d a t e s ’ hav in g

a m a ste r’ s degree

h i g h e r , as compared t o having l e s s t h a n a m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e .

or

On one

s u b t e s t , S t u d e n t S e r v i c e s , t h e r e was a m o d e ra te n e g a t i v e a s s o c i a t i o n
between

educational

significant
level

level

relationship

and

WMVAE

scores.

No

statistically

was found between c a n d i d a t e s ’ e d u c a t i o n a l

( m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e o r h i g h e r ) and t h e i r a g g r e g a t e s c o r e s on t h e

WMVAE.
Research Q u es tio n 2 :
Is t h e r e
a statistically
significant
r e l a t i o n s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s g r a d u a t e - l e v e l c o u rs e w o r k in
t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , s u p e r v i s i o n , and o r g a n i z a t i o n o f v o c a t i o n a l
e d u c a t i o n programs and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?
Regression a n a ly s is revealed a n e g l i g i b l e n e g a tiv e c o r r e l a t i o n
between c a n d i d a t e s ’ a g g r e g a t e s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE and t h e i r
taken the p re sc rib e d

co ur se w or k t o

Furthermore,

of the

negative.
between

on f i v e
No

statistically

candidates’

nine

be a r e i m b u r s e d
subtests,

significant

graduate-level

t h e i r a g g r e g a t e s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE.

the

havi ng

adm inistrator.

co efficients

relationship

adm inistrative

was

co u rs ew o r k

were
found
and

85
Re s ea rc h Q u e s t i o n 3 :
Is th e re a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s ig n if i c a n t
r e l a t i o n s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s p o s s e s s i n g o r n o t p o s s e s s i n g
Michigan t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t i o n and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?
C a n d i d a t e s ’ h a v in g a t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e
teaching

certificate

Instructional
teaching
than

Management

certificate

did

was m o d e r a t e l y

those

subtest.

associated
That

is,

had m o d e r a t e l y h i g h e r

w ithout

a

versus

teaching

n o t havi ng a

with

scores

candidates
scores

on t h e

who had

on t h i s

certific ate.

a

subtest
Teaching

c e r t i f i c a t i o n was t h e s t r o n g e s t c o n t r i b u t o r t o c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on
this

subtest.

was f o u n d

However,

no s t a t i s t i c a l l y

between c a n d i d a t e s ’ t e a c h e r

significant

relationship

certificatio n

and

th eir

a g g r e g a t e s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE.
Re s ea r c h Q u e s t i o n 4 :
Is th ere a s t a t i s t i c a l l y
significant
r e l a t i o n s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s v o c a t i o n a l
teaching
e x p e r i e n c e and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?
Regression

analysis

revealed

between c a n d i d a t e s ’ v o c a t i o n a l
on

the

Student

Services

coefficien t of all
the c o r r e l a ti o n
teaching

negative

subtest.

This

was

the

asso ciatio n

negative,
range.

and

second

highest

All b u t one c o e f f i c i e n t f o r

between s c o r e s on t h e n i n e s u b t e s t s
were

correlation

t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e and t h e i r s c o r e s

t h o s e in t h e s t u d y .

experience

m oderate

a m o de ra te

all

were

and v o c a t i o n a l
lo w e r

No s t a t i s t i c a l l y

than

the

sig n ifican t

r e l a t i o n s h i p was f o u n d b e t w e e n c a n d i d a t e s ’ v o c a t i o n a l

teaching

e x p e r i e n c e and t h e i r a g g r e g a t e s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE.
R es ea r c h Q u e s t i o n 5 :
Is th e re a s t a t i s t i c a l l y
significant
r e l a t i o n s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e and h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?
The s t r o n g e s t
experience;

this

contributor

correlation

to

WMVAE s c o r e s

was on t h e

Student

was

adm inistrative

Services

subtest.

86

However, no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p was found between
c a n d i d a t e s ’ a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e and t h e i r a g g r e g a t e s c o r e s on
t h e WMVAE.
R es ear ch Q u e s ti o n 6 :
Is t h e r e a s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t
r e l a t i o n s h i p between a c a n d i d a t e ’ s o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e r i e n c e and
h i s / h e r WMVAE s c o r e s ?
Occupational

experience

was

negatively

correlated

w it h

test

s c o r e s on f o u r o f t h e n i n e s u b t e s t s and p o s i t i v e l y c o r r e l a t e d with
test
at

s c o r e s on t h e r e m a in in g f i v e s u b t e s t s .
the

low

or

n eg lig ib le

lev el.

All c o r r e l a t i o n s were

H ow ev er,

no

statistic ally

s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p was found between c a n d i d a t e s ’ o c c u p a t i o n a l
e x p e r i e n c e and t h e i r a g g r e g a t e s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE.
Conclusions
The Michigan A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Rules R e l a t i n g t o E d u c a ti o n and t h e
A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Guide f o r V o c a t i o n a l - T e c h n i c a l

E d u c a ti o n in Michigan

i n d i c a t e t h e im p o rt a n c e o f c e r t a i n c r e d e n t i a l s f o r r ei m bu rse me nt as
a vocational a d m in is tra to r.
t h a t many s t a t e s

The r e v ie w o f l i t e r a t u r e a l s o i n d i c a t e d

and i n s t i t u t i o n s

emphasize

sim ilar cred e n tials

to

be l i c e n s e d o r c e r t i f i e d as a t e a c h e r o r e d u c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r .
Q u a l i t y e d u c a t i o n and f i e l d e x p e r i e n c e a r e c o n s i d e r e d t o be o f
utmost im p o r t a n c e in mo st, i f n o t a l l , o c c u p a t i o n s .
not

o n ly what c r i t e r i a

might

best

be me asu re d.

relationship
scores

on

are

between

nine

In t h i s

six

subtests

a s s o c i a t i o n were t h o s e

im portant,

types
of

study,

of

the

identified

but

how t h o s e
the

normative

WMVAE.
by Davis

The q u e s t i o n i s
requirements

w riter
data

Standards
( 1 9 7 1 ).

examined

and
for

the

candidates’
ranges

of

The c r i t e r i o n

87
f o r s ig n ific a n c e was set at the .05 alpha le v e l

f o r examining the

research hypotheses.
O verall,

the

relatio n sh ip

between

the

norm ative

c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e WMVAE was found n o t
s i g n if i c a n t a t the
were,

however,

.05 a l p h a l e v e l .

Several

data

and

t o be s t a t i s t i c a l l y
independent

d et e r m in e d t o have a m o d e ra te

variables

relationship

to

test

sc o re s, according to Davis’s le v e ls of a s s o c ia t io n .
None o f t h e
level

in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s

correlated

at

t h e mo d e ra te

o f a s s o c i a t i o n o r h i g h e r with s c o r e s on t h e Program P l a n n i n g ,

D evelopm ent,

and

E valuation

su b test.

c o r r e l a t i o n s were a t t h e n e g l i g i b l e

In

level.

fact,

two

None o f t h e

of

the

normative

d a t a were d e t e r m in e d t o be good p r e d i c t o r s o f c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on
t h e Program P l a n n i n g , Development, and E v a l u a t i o n s u b t e s t .
S c o r e s on t h e I n s t r u c t i o n a l
relatio n sh ip

w i t h one

certification.

All

The

third

independent

other

subtest

Management s u b t e s t

was

v ariable,

relationships
Perso nn el

had a mo de ra te

M ichigan

were

low

or

Management.

teaching

negligible.

Th ree

of

the

in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s had a n e g a t i v e bu t n e g l i g i b l e a s s o c i a t i o n w it h
scores

on

th is

association,
the

su b test;

two

had

a

positive

but

n eg lig ib le

and one had a p o s i t i v e b u t low c o r r e l a t i o n .

norm ative

data

were

determ ined

to

be

good

None o f

predictors

of

c a n d i d a t e s ’ s c o r e s on t h e Perso nne l Management s u b t e s t .
None

of

the

independent

variab les

a s s o c i a t i o n w it h s c o r e s on t h e F a c i l i t i e s
subtest.

h ad

even

a

m oderate

and Equipment Management

Two in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s had a low o r n e g l i g i b l e n e g a t i v e

c o r r e l a t i o n w it h

s c o r e s on t h i s

subtest.

None o f t h e

in d e p e n d e n t

88

v a r i a b l e s s t u d i e d were found t o be good p r e d i c t o r s o f s c o r e s on any
o f t h e WMVAE s u b t e s t s .
Scores

on t h e

Student

Services

s u b t e s t were found t o

have a

m o d e r a t e l y n e g a t i v e a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h two in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s .

Of

t h e o t h e r f o u r in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s , t h r e e had a p o s i t i v e and one a
n e g a t i v e a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h s c o r e s on t h i s s u b t e s t .
m aster’s

degree

experience

had

and

those

moderately

s u b t e s t than did

their

with

three

higher

or

scores

counterparts

w it h

Candidates with a

more y e a r s
on

the

of

teaching

Student

Services

lo w er e d u c a t i o n a l

levels

and l e s s t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e .
The h i g h e s t a s s o c i a t i o n
range,

was

between

scores

ad m inistrative experience.

(.469),
on

the

but s t i l l
Staff

w i t h i n t h e m od era te

Development

subtest

and

All o t h e r c o e f f i c i e n t s were c o n s i d e r a b l y

lo w e r ; t h r e e were n e g a t i v e and two p o s i t i v e .
The s e v e n t h s u b t e s t was P r o f e s s i o n a l
associations

between t h e

in d e p e n d e n t

R elations.

variables

s u b t e s t were n e g a t i v e and t h r e e were p o s i t i v e ;
t h r e e were n e g l i g i b l e .

and

Th ree o f t h e
scores

on t h i s

t h r e e were low and

None o f t h e in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s c o n s i d e r e d

in t h e s t u d y was found t o c o n t r i b u t e t o WMVAE s c o r e s .
School/Community R e l a t i o n s was t h e e i g h t h s u b t e s t .
associations
su b test

between t h e

were

found

in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s

to

a s s o c i a t i o n s were n e g a t i v e ;
negligible.

be

statistic ally

None o f t h e

and s c o r e s
sig n ifican t.

f i v e o f t h e s i x were low,

on t h i s
Two

and one was

89
None o f t h e

in d e p e n d e n t

variables

correlated

at

t h e mode rate

l e v e l o r h i g h e r w i t h s c o r e s on t h e B u s i n e s s and F i n a n c i a l Management
subtest.

Three were found t o have a n e g a t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n , and t h r e e

were a t t h e n e g l i g i b l e l e v e l .

The s e l e c t e d c r i t e r i a were n o t found

t o be a d e q u a t e p r e d i c t o r s o f WMVAE s c o r e s .
When

a

m ultiple

regression

analysis

was

p er f or m e d

on

the

a g g r e g a t e WMVAE s c o r e s and t h e in d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s , t h e r e s u l t was
found

not

to

be

statistic ally

sig n ifican t.

In

conclusion,

c a n d i d a t e s ’ e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l , g r a d u a t e - l e v e l v o c a t i o n a l co ur s ew or k ,
teacher
ence,
with

certification,

teaching

and o c c u p a t i o n a l
WMVAE s c o r e s ,

experience,

experience

and

did

therefore

not

they

adm inistrative
significantly

cannot

be

experi­

correlate

considered

good

p r e d i c t o r s o f WMVAE s c o r e s .
The
p la g u e d

question
vocational

of

how much

educators

work

experience

for years.

The

is

necessary

a s s u m p ti o n

has

has
been

t h a t t h e more e x p e r i e n c e a v o c a t i o n a l e d u c a t o r has in t h e f i e l d , t h e
b e t t e r able he/she w ill
the

r e v ie w

carried

of

over

be t o t e a c h t h o s e s k i l l s .

literatu re,
as

adm inistrator.

those

prerequisites

a s s u m p ti o n s

for

As e v i d e n c e d in

apparently

rei m bu rse m en t

as

a

have

been

vocational

The im p o r t a n c e o f o c c u p a t i o n a l work e x p e r i e n c e as a

p r e r e q u i s i t e f o r v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s has n o t been e s t a b l i s h e d
by any e m p i r i c a l

data

unc o ve re d th r o u g h t h e

review o f

literatu re.

F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e f i n d i n g s from t h i s s t u d y c a s t s e r i o u s do ub t on t h e
need f o r o c c u p a t i o n a l

work e x p e r i e n c e

in

the

field

of

vocational

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n b e c a u s e no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e i n WMVAE s c o r e s was

90
found

between c a n d i d a t e s

who d i d

and t h o s e

who d i d

not

have

the

r e q u i r e d o c c u p a t i o n a l work e x p e r i e n c e .
The q u e s t i o n

o f how much formal

education

s h ou ld

be r e q u i r e d

f o r c e r t i f i c a t i o n as a school a d m i n i s t r a t o r was n o t answered in any
o f t h e r e s e a r c h re vie we d f o r t h i s s t u d y .
conducted

to

determine

N a ti o n a l s u r v e y s have been

how much e d u c a t i o n

is

required

s t a t e a g e n c i e s , u n i v e r s i t i e s , and school d i s t r i c t s .

by

various

The e d u c a t i o n a l

p r e r e q u i s i t e s f o r v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s have o f t e n been found t o
be t h e same as t h o s e f o r g e n e r a l e d u c a t i o n a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

The most

freq u en tly id e n tif i e d educational p re re q u is ite is a m a ster’ s degree.
Of t h e 63 c a n d i d a t e s i n c l u d e d in t h i s s t u d y , 46 met t h e p r e r e q u i s i t e
for

vocational

degree

or

adm inistrator

higher.

However,

reim bur sem ent
no

significant

s c o r e s was found between c a n d i d a t e s who d i d
have a t

least

individuals

a m a ster’s degree.

who

c o nt en d

that

of

havi ng
difference

is

a

m aster’s
in

WMVAE

and t h o s e who d i d n o t

These f i n d i n g s

there

a

lack

le n d
of

support

evidence

to
for

e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e as a p r e r e q u i s i t e .
The Michigan A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Rules R e l a t i n g t o E d u c a ti o n r e q u i r e
reimbursed v o c atio n al
rules

do n o t

courses

in

state

the

education

study,

had

statistically

what t h e

curriculum

adm inistration,

vocational
36

a d m i n i s t r a t o r s t o have a m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e ;

p ro gr am s .

com ple te d
significant

the

sh oul d

supervision,

entail,
and

difference

included

co ur s ew or k .
in

WMVAE

than

organization

Of t h e c a n d i d a t e s
desired

other

scores

the

of

in

the

However,

no

was

found

between c a n d i d a t e s who d i d and t h o s e who d i d n o t have t h e p r e s c r i b e d
co u r s e w o r k .

91
S p e c i f i c i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e number o f c o u r s e s o r c o u r s e c o n t e n t
is

clearly

lacking,

and

expectations

Concerns a r e two d i m e n s i o n a l .

lack

a

needed

From t h e s e f i n d i n g s ,

specificity.

t h e WMVAE does

n o t a p p e a r t o d i s c r i m i n a t e between i n d i v i d u a l s who do and t h o s e who
do

not

have

significant

the

prescribed

difference

degree

and

courses.

Nor

be e x p e c t e d when t h e c r i t e r i a

s h o u ld

are

a

n o t well

defined.
A p o sitive
pe r f o r m a n c e

influence

on t e s t s

in

of

the

teaching

field

experience

of teaching

on

might

teach ers’

be e x p e c t e d .

The i n f l u e n c e o f t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e on t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e f i e l d
at best,

debatable.

F i n d i n g s from t h i s s t u d y r e v e a l e d l i t t l e

t h e p e r v a s i v e need f o r a d m i n i s t r a t o r s

to

have t e a c h i n g

is,

about

experience.

In f a c t , no s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e in WMVAE s c o r e s was
found between c a n d i d a t e s w i t h and t h o s e w i t h o u t t h e s u g g e s t e d t h r e e
years of teaching experience.
Several
the

number

com pre hen siv e s u r v e y s have been co n d u ct ed t o d e t e r m i n e
of

years

adm inistrators.
shown

a

nu mbe r

co m petence.

years

teaching

L i t t l e formal

significant
of

of

and
of

experience

required

for

school

r e s e a r c h has been c o n d u c t e d t h a t

positive

teach in g

correlation
experience

between
and

the

opti mal

ad m in istrativ e

O th e r i n v e s t i g a t o r s a r e en co u ra g ed t o c o n d u c t

r e s e a r c h t o d e t e r m i n e w h e th e r t e a c h i n g e x p e r i e n c e

has

should,

further
in

fact,

be a p r e r e q u i s i t e f o r scho ol a d m i n i s t r a t i o n .
Michigan’ s a d m in is t r a t i v e

rules

require

reimbursed

a d m in is tra to rs to possess a teaching c e r t i f i c a t e .

vocational

Of t h e

subjects

i n c l u d e d in t h e s u r v e y , 51 o f t h e 63 had a t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e .

A

92
statistically
between

significant

candidates

difference

who d i d

teaching c e r t i f i c a t e .

and

in

those

A statistically

WMVAE

scores

who d i d

not

was

have

a

found
valid

s i g n i f i c a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p was

a l s o found between a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p e r i e n c e and WMVAE s c o r e s .
is,

candidates

adm inistration

who had
te n d e d

without c e r t i f i c a t i o n

a teaching

to

certificate

do b e t t e r

on t h e

and

That

experience

examination

than

in

those

or the required th ree years of experience

in

adm inistration.
A statistically
both

weak bu t

independent

v ariab les,

ad m in istrativ e experience.
are

inconclusive

positive

bec a u se

correlation

teaching

is

not

known

found

certificatio n

I t s ho ul d be n o t e d t h a t
it

was

in

what

these

for
and

findings

discipline

the

t e a c h i n g c e r t i f i c a t e was awarded o r a t what l e v e l t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e was g a i n e d .
b e ca us e t h e o v e r a l l

These f i n d i n g s s h o u ld be viewed w i t h c a u t i o n

r e l a t i o n s h i p between a g g r e g a t e WMVAE s c o r e s and

n o r m a t i v e d a t a was found n o t t o
ad d itio n , the adjusted
amount o f v a r i a n c e

be s t a t i s t i c a l l y

was o n ly 7.8%.

in t h e c r i t e r i o n

from a p r e d i c t o r v a r i a b l e

The

significant.

In

value expresses the

v a r i a b l e t h a t can be p r e d i c t e d

o r a c o m b in a ti o n

of predictor

variables

(Borg & G a l l , 1983).
In

general,

more

r e s u l t o f t h i s study.

questions

were

raised

than

answered

as

a

Much o f t h e r e s e a r c h was i n c o n c l u s i v e , b u t i t

i s s i g n i f i c a n t in i t s e l f t h a t t h e ma jor f i n d i n g s were found n o t t o
be s t a t i s t i c a l l y

significant.

Even though t h e f i n d i n g s were found

n o t t o be s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t , t h e y a r e i m p o r t a n t t o t h e f i e l d
of vocational

adm inistration.

O th e r r e s e a r c h e r s

a r e en c o u r a g e d t o

93
c o n d u c t more i n - d e p t h s t u d y in t h e f i e l d o f v o c a t i o n a l

adm inistra­

t i v e t r a i n i n g , t e s t i n g , and c r e d e n t i a l i n g .
The WMVAE c l e a r l y has some i n h e r e n t s h o r t c o m i n g s .
a w r it t e n examination,
ed g e.

whic h,

a t the b e st,

is

I t do es n o t c o n t a i n a t e s t o f p r a c t i c a l

F irst,

i t is

a measure o f knowl­
sk ills.

Second, t h e

WMVAE has been a d m i n i s t e r e d t o r e l a t i v e l y few c a n d i d a t e s .

Finally,

the r e s u l t s

adminis­

of th is

study dem onstrate t h a t the vocational

t r a t i v e r ei m b ur se m en t c r i t e r i a ,

as s p e c i f i e d

in M ic h i g a n ’ s Ad minis ­

t r a t i v e R u l e s , a r e n o t good p r e d i c t o r s o f i n d i v i d u a l s ’ s c o r e s on t h e
WMVAE.
Recommendations
Based on t h e s t u d y f i n d i n g s , t h e w r i t e r recommends t h a t :
1.
the

The r e s u l t s

WMVAE

scores

of th is
to

s t u d y s ho u ld be c o n s i d e r e d when u s in g

determ ine

candidates’

elig ib ility

for

reimbursement.
2.

The r e s u l t s o f t h i s s t u d y s ho ul d be c o n s i d e r e d when d e t e r ­

mining n o r m a t i v e c r i t e r i a

f o r rei m b ur se m en t a n d / o r c e r t i f i c a t i o n

of

vocational a d m in istra to rs.
3.

Agency p e r s o n n e l

ance c r i t e r i a

as w el l

s h o u ld s e r i o u s l y

consider

as w r i t t e n e x a m i n a t i o n s c o r e s

using

perform­

in d e t e r m i n i n g

c a n d i d a t e s ’ e l i g i b i l i t y f o r r ei m b ur se m en t a n d / o r c e r t i f i c a t i o n .
4.
criteria

Re s ea r c h
that

are

s h o u ld

be

essential

initiated
to

be

to

determine

elig ib le

c e r t i f i c a t i o n as v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .

for

the

n o r m a t iv e

rei m b u r se m en t

or

94
5.

Re s ea rc h

s ho ul d

be

undertaken

to

identify

im portant

and

e s s e n t i a l t a s k s perfor me d by v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .
6.

State

competency

and

tests

organization

for

personnel

adm inistrators

r e g a r d i n g c a n d i d a t e s ’ backg ro un d,

engaged

need

to

in

record

developing

more

t o be used by f u t u r e

details

researchers

in t h i s a r e a .

Reflections
"Where Are We and Where Are We Going in School
Preparation
question

in

that

the

U n ite d

still

States?"

needs

to

(Gousna

et

be a d d r e s s e d .

A dm inistrator

a l .,

1986)

A question

n a r r o w e r in f o c u s b u t one t h a t a l s o must be a d d r e s s e d i s :

is

that

a
is

Where a r e

we and where a r e we go in g in v o c a t i o n a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r p r e p a r a t i o n in
Michigan?
S e v e r a l q u e s t i o n s and i s s u e s s u r f a c e d d u r i n g t h e dev el op me nt o f
th is

project.

One

question

that

seems

critical

is:

Now t h a t

a d m i n i s t r a t o r c e r t i f i c a t i o n in Michigan has been d e f i n e d ,
need f o r v o c a t i o n a l

adm in istrativ e

reim bursem ent re q u ire m e n ts?

These two p r o c e s s e s seem u n n e c e s s a r i l y r e d u n d a n t .
follow s:

Can

one

be

certified

is there a

and

not

The q u e s t i o n th e n
be

elig ib le

for

re im bu r se m en t?
In s e v e r a l

studies,

r e s e a r c h e r s have a t t e m p t e d

issu e o f competencies t h a t
adm inistration.
requirem ents
adm inistrators.

are e s s e n ti a l

for

to

address

excellence

in

the

school

In M ich ig an , t r a d i t i o n a l l y t h e r e have been p a r a l l e l
for

general,

vocational,

Are t h e s e p r e r e q u i s i t e s

and

special

supported

education

by r e s e a r c h ,

or

95
are

they

issue,

ba sed more on t r a d i t i o n

is

the

r ei m bur se me nt

and mandates?

procedure

in

Michigan

c o v e r b o th s e c o n d a r y and community c o l l e g e
adm in istrativ e
exercise,

pe r f o r m a n c e

validated,
sk ills,

and

Can

one

an

attem pt

a d m in is tra to rs with

assessm ent

center,

test,

or

w ritten

examination

adm inistered

to

measure

accurately

the
to
one

sim ulation

be

developed,

the

knowledge,

and a b i l i t i e s o f a d m i n i s t r a t o r s a t both l e v e l s ?

E fforts
train

rule?

To compound

have been made and s t r a t e g i e s

general

education

and

vocational

are

bei ng d e v e l o p e d

education

to

adm inistrators.

Has an i m p o r t a n t d i f f e r e n c e been found in t h e s k i l l s needed in t h e s e
separate
but

but

s im ila r occupations?

"equal"

train in g

resp o n sib ility
concerned
programs
involving

to

train
all

programs?

for d is trib u tin g

about

I f not,

Funding
resources

t h e most c o s t - e f f e c t i v e
school

adm inistrators.

departm ents

and

why a r e t h e r e

agencies

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n seems wor thy o f c o n s i d e r a t i o n .

agencies
u ltim ately

means

separate
w ith

the

s h o u l d be

of e s ta b lis h in g

A synergistic
concerned

w ith

ap p ro ac h
school

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A
TASKS PERCEIVED BY MICHIGAN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
ADMINISTRATORS TO BE "ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY"
FOR FIRST-YEAR VOCATIONAL ADMINISTRATORS

96

CATEGORY A:

Program Planning, Development,

and Evaluation

1. Survey student and parent interests.
2. Collect and analyze manpower needs assessment data.
3. Direct occupational task analysis for use in curriculum
d e velopment.
4. Direct the identification of entry-level requirements for
jobs.
*5. Involve community representatives in program planning and
devel o p m e n t .
6. Obtain state and federal services and resources for program
deve l o p m e n t .
*7. Cooperate with district, county, regional, and state agencies
in developing and operating vocational programs.
*8. Prepare annual program p l a n s .
9. prepare and update long-range program goals.
*10. Develop overall vocational program goals.
11. Coordinate district curriculum development efforts.
12. Approve courses of study.
13. Establish school admission and graduation requirements.
14. Recommend program policies to the administration and board.
*15. Implement local board and administrative policies.
*16. Interpret and apply state and/or federal vocational education
legislation.
17. Interpret and apply other relevant state and federal
legislation (such as C ET A ) .
*18. Develop plans for evaluating instructional programs.
19. Direct self-evaluation of the district vocational programs.
20. Involve external evaluation personnel in assessing program
effectiveness.
21. Design and select instruments for evaluating instructional
programs.
22. Evaluate the effectiveness of the instructional page.
*23. Initiate student and employer follow-up studies.
*24. Analyze student and employer follow-up studies.
25. Recommend curriculum recisions based on evaluation data.
26. Assess student testing and grading procedures.
27. Analyze the school's and community's feelings toward
educational change.
28. Write proposals for the funding of new programs and the
improvement of existing programs.
29. Coordinate local demonstration, pilot, and exemplary
programs.

97

30. Design and oversee local research studies.
31. Interpret and use research results for program development
and improvement.
32. Develop supplemental/remedial instructional programs to meet
student needs.
CATEGORY B:

Instructional Management

33. Establish instructional program entry and completion
requirements.
34. Establish student rules and policies (such as attendance and
discipline).
*35. Enforce student rules and policies.
36. Design and oversee student progress reporting procedures.
*37. Prepare a master schedule of course offerings.
38. Guide staff in selecting and using effective instructional
strategies (such as individualized instruction).
39. Establish and implement a curriculum design that will achieve
the school's instructional goals.
40. Guide staff in integrating and articulating the vocational
program with the total educational program.
41. Promote the integration of vocational student organizational
activities into the instructional program.
*42. Provide for cooperative education and apprenticeship
p r o grams.
43. Provide for supplemental/remedial instructional programs.
44. Provide for special needs programs.
45. Provide for adult/continuing education programs.
46. Guide the articulation of secondary and postsecondary
vocational program activities.
*47. Approve selection of instructional equipment.
*48. Approve selection of instructional materials.
49. Maintain a learning resources center for students.
CATEGORY C:
*50.
51.
52.
53.
*54.
55.
56.

Student Services

Oversee student recruitment activities.
Oversee school admission services.
Arrange for work study programs.
Oversee student guidance and testing services.
Oversee student job placement and follow-up services.
Provide for a student record-keeping system.
Interpret and apply student rights, laws, and regulations.

98

CATEGORY D:
57.
58.
*59.
60.
61.
*62.
*63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
*68.
*69.
70.
*71.
72.
*73.
*74.
*75.
*76.
77.
*78.
*79.
*80.

Personnel Management

Prepare and recommend personnel policies.
Prepare and maintain a personnel handbook.
Assess program staffing requirements.
Prepare job descriptions.
Establish staff selection and recruitment procedures.
Recruit and interview potential staff.
Recommend potential staff to the administration and board.
Participate in negotiating staff working agreements.
Establish staff grievance procedures.
Resolve staff grievance procedures.
Interpret the staff benefits program.
Counsel and advise staff on professional matters.
Schedule staff work loads.
Schedule staff leaves, vacations, and sabbaticals.
Oversee the work of teachers and other school personnel.
Provide for a staff record-keeping system.
Plan and conduct staff meetings.
Prepare bulletins and other communications designed to keep
staff informed.
Observe and evaluate staff performance.
Recommend staff promotions and dismissals.
Provide guidance to the staff on legal matters affecting the
school program.
Interpret and apply licensing and certification regulations.
Interpret and apply labor laws and regulations.
Interpret and apply affirmative action laws and regulations.

CATEGORY E:

Staff Development

*81. Assess staff development needs.
82. Assist in the preparation of individual staff profiles.
83. Counsel staff regarding personnel development needs and
activities.
84. Establish and maintain a staff learning resources center.
85. Conduct workshops and other inservice programs for
professional personnel.
*86. Arrange for workshops and other inservice programs for
professional personnel.
87. Provide for inservice programs for supportive personnel.
88. Provide for preservice programs for professional personnel.
89. Arrange for staff exchanges with business and industry.
90. Evaluate staff development programs.

99

CATEGORY F:

Professional Relations and Self-Development

*91. Maintain ethical standards expected of a professional
educator.
*92. Develop and maintain professional relationships with other
administrators.
*93. Develop and maintain professional relationships with state
department of education pe r s o n n e l .
*94. Develop and maintain relationships with personnel in
professional organizations.
*95. Participate in professional organizations.
*96. Participate in professional meetings for self-improvement.
*97. Promote professional image through personal appearance and
conduct.
98. Assist with the development of state and/or federal plans
for vocational education.
99. Participate in the development of vocational education
legislation.
100. Prepare policy and commendation statements.
*101. Represent teacher interests and concerns to other
administrators and the board.
*102. Develop effective interpersonal skills.
*103. Read and use information from professional journals,
reports, and related materials for self-improvement.
*104. Apply management techniques to personal work assignments.
*105. Develop cooperative problem-solving and decision-making
skills.
*106. Assess personal performance as an administrator.
CATEGORY G:

School-Community Relations

*107. Develop a plan for promoting good public relations.
108. Prepare and recommend public relations and communication
policies.
109. Coordinate use of occupational (craft) advisory committees.
*110. Organize and work with a general vocational advisory
c ouncil.
*111. Develop working relationships with employers and agencies.
112. Prepare and recommend cooperative agreements with other
agencies.
*113. Involve community leaders (political and nonpolitical) in
school programs and activities.
*114. Participate in school organizations.
*115. Participate in community organizations.

100

*116.
117.
118.
119.
*120.
*121.
*122.
123.
*124.
125.
126.
*127.
128.
129.
130.
131.

Promote good relationships between vocational and general
education staff.
Encourage staff participation in community civic, service,
and social organizations.
Promote cooperative efforts of parent and teacher groups.
Conduct conferences with individuals relative to the
vocational g r o u p s .
Meet and confer with visitors.
Conduct informational programs for the public (such as open
house and career awareness programs).
Make public appearances on school programs and activities.
Conduct public hearings and meetings on school issues.
Conduct orientation programs for students and staff.
Conduct recognition programs for students, staff, and
community supporters.
Plan for exhibits and displays.
Develop materials to promote the vocational programs.
Write news releases for school and area media.
Obtain and analyze informal feedback about the school.
Evaluate and public relations program.
Interpret and apply public "right to know" laws and
regulations.

CATEGORY H:
*132.
133.
134.
135.
136.
137.
138.
139.
140.
141.
142.
143.

Facilities and Equipment Management

Assess the need for physical facilities.
Conduct land and facility feasibility studies.
Recommend building sites.
Recommend the selection of an architect.
Oversee architectural planning.
Submit building and equipment specifications.
Analyze building and equipment contract bids.
Recommend acceptance of new building.
Procure major equipment and furnishings.
Plan space requirements for programs.
Assign space according to priority needs.
Develop and implement an equipment and supply inventory
system.
144. Establish preventive maintenance program for equipment and
facilities.
*145. Interpret and apply health and safety laws and regulations.
*146. Develop and implement safety programs.

101

*147.
148.
149.
150.
151.

Establish emergency plans (such as fire and disaster).
Establish and oversee a security program.
Schedule and oversee community's use of facilities.
Develop long-range building and equipment plans.
Prepare and submit renovation and alteration plans.

CATEGORY I:

Business and Financial Management

152. Prepare and recommend business policies.
153. Establish purchasing and payment procedures.
154. Establish receiving and shipping procedures.
*155. Prepare and regulate operational budgets.
*156. Prepare and regulate program budgets.
157. Prepare and regulate capital improvement budgets.
158. Prepare long-range budgets based on total program
requirements.
159. Adopt an appropriate financial accounting system.
*160. Analyze the cost of operating various instructional
programs.
161. Locate sources of funds for program development and
operation.
*162. Approve all major expenditures.
*163. Approve requisitions and work orders.
164. Determine insurance coverage needs.
*165. Respond to business correspondence.
*166. Prepare local, state, and federal reports.

♦Indicates that vocational education administrators in Michigan
perceived the item to be "absolutely" necessary for first year
vocational administrators.

APPENDIX B
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE FORM

102

DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE FORM

1.

Name ____________________________________________________
(last)
First
Middle

2.

Social Security N u m b e r _________/ ______ / ____________

3.

Age:

]
]
]
]
]

4.

Under 25
25-35
36-45
46-55
Over 55

Sex:

[ ] Male
[ ] Female

Current Employment
5.

Current Position:

Administrator
Teacher
Other

Level of Current
Employment

High School
Area Center
Community College
Adult Education
College/University

Number of years in present role:

]
]
]
]
]

Less than 1 year
1-3 years
4-5 years
6-8 years
More than 9 years

Education
8.

Your present status relative to education:
[ ]

I have or am eligible to hold a valid Michigan teacher's
ce rtificate.

[ ]

I am working toward a

degree
(name of degree)

m
(name of program)
I expected to completed this degree in
(year)

103

[

]I am not enrolled in any educational program at the
present time but am considering enrolling in the future.

[

]I am not enrolled in any educational program and am not
considering future enrollment.

[

] Other _______________________________________________________

9. Highest Degree
Earned

Associates
Bachelor
Masters
Ed. Specialist
Doctorate

10. Number of years since last college course:
[
[
t
[

]Currently enrolled
]Less than 1 year
]1'4 years
]More than 5 years

11. Have you completed vocational education courses in the
administration, supervision, and organization of vocational
education programs at the graduate level:
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
If yes, explain:

Work Experience
12.

Calculate the total number of years you have been in the paid
job market.
Classroom teaching vocational
Classroom teaching Non-vocational

years
years

Educational Administrative vocational
Educational administration non-vocational

years
years

104

Occupational Experience*
(other than teaching or educational
administration)
Other ___________________________________
Total

*My occupational experience is in the following areas:

years
years
years

APPENDIX C

PERMISSION LETTER FROM THE UNIVERSITY COMMITTEE ON
RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS

105

M ICH IG AN STATE U NIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY COMM ITTEE O N RESEARCH IN Y O .V .N G

EAST LANSING • MICHIGAN • 0 1 2 4 -1 1 1 1

H U M A N SUBJECTS (UCRIHSl
206 BERKEY ELAU
(517) 353-9738

December 2,1988

IBB# 88:478

William L. Pratt
1385 Cleaver Road
Caro, MI 48723
Dear Mr. Pratt:
Subject:

"A STUDY TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
CERTAIN NORMATIVE DATA ADMINISTRATIVE
KNOWLEDGE AS MEASURED BY THE WRITTEN MICHIGAN
VOCATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE EXAM IRB# 88-478"

The above project is exempt from full UCRIHS review. The proposed
research protocol has been reviewed by another committee member.
The rights and welfare of human subjects appear to be protected and
you have approval to conduct the research.
You are reminded that UCRIHS approval is valid for one calendar
year. If you plan to continue this project b^ond one year, please make
provisions for obtaining appropriate UCRIHS approval one month
prior to December 2.198$.
Any changes in procedures involving human subjects must be reviewed
by UCRIHS prior to initiation of the change. UCRIHS must also be
notified promptly of any problems (unexpected side effects, complaints,
etc.) involving human subjects during the course of the work.
Thank you for bringing this project to my attention. If I can be of any
future help, please do not hesitate to let me know.

(John K. Hudzik, Ph.D.
Chair, UCRIHS
JKH/sar
cc: G. Ferns

IfW u am A /h r m jtitr A c tv m EqusI O p p o rtu n ity fmstttmtinm

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