Held Down and Held Back: Catalogued-in-Publication Code

Recent scholarship highlights the many benefits of diversity among principals, including improving teacher retention and student outcomes. But the question remains: are observable characteristics like gender and race associated with the probability of promotion? And, for those who are promoted, are there systematic differences in wait times based on gender and race? We use logistic regression to assess the probability and time to promotion for 4,689 assistant principals in Texas from 2001 to 2017 using an administrative dataset. Holding education, experience, school level and urbanicity constant, Black principals are least likely to be promoted and wait longer for promotion. Additionally, findings suggest women are equally likely to be assistant principals in high schools, yet they are disproportionately promoted to principals in elementary schools, limiting their future earnings and advancement potential.