The purpose of this study was to examine whether there exists a relationship between selection practices of school districts (i.e., whether the principal was hired from within the district as an internal hire or hired from outside the district as an external hire) and changes in minimal proficiency in school math and reading achievement. More pointedly, we examined whether the hiring type of principals bears any association with the percentage of low performers at the school. The units of analyses were all newly appointed elementary principals in the state of Wisconsin in 2010, who consecutively led a school in a principal role for five years (2010-2014). Based on results obtained from the five-year panel regression analysis, hiring type was not found to be statistically significant. However, descriptive examination of trends indicate the performance of schools led by internal hires fare worse than those led by external hires and that the relationship between hiring type and minimal reading proficiency appears to change across time. Results are discussed.