Typically, superintendents interview
three to six candidates from a pool of applicants for principal. In a recent study of 725 superintendents, the mean number of interviews was 4.6. Larger schools tend to draw the most applicants and the superintendents interview more candidates. In 5 percent of the cases, superintendents interviewed only one candidate, usually an insider. Ironically, however, 52 percent of the superintendents rated candidates to be “average” or “below average.” On a five-point scale, the mean rating given to all applicants by the superintendents was average (2.6%)