The potential of a simple biographical checklist to identify outstanding school principals was explored. A seven-item composite developed in a construction sample was moderately efficient in discriminating outstanding principals from principals-in-general in two cross-validation samples, and it showed modest, positive correlations with principals' self-ratings of job performance. No significant sex or race differences in composite scores were observed. Results suggest (a) the feasibility of developing simple, inexpensive biographical inventories to supplement existing methods for selecting principals; (b) that career development experiences to reproduce the biographical correlates of recognition might be provided to further the development of aspiring principals; and (c) that using Holland's theory as an aid to generating items for a predictor battery may be fruitful.
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