Schools on probation between 1996 and 2000 were less likely to get off probation when the principal was removed, according to a Catalyst analysis of 119 elementary schools and 42 high schools. But that doesn’t mean the new principals were less effective, says researcher Elaine Allensworth of the Consortium for Chicago School Research. “Schools that received new principals probably had more problems, and that’s why they were replaced,” she says.