This information analysis discusses the changing role of the principal in light of the growth of standards-based accountability during the decade of the 1990s and into the 21st century. The paper begins with an overview of the expectations of school leaders and the changes in school leadership. This is followed by definitions of school leadership that include professional standards, core practices that seem consistent with the standards, the various roles the principal plays, and some of the common challenges the principal faces in meeting expectations. The next section discusses the dominance of instructional leadership over the past several decades; many educators believe that student learning should be at the center of the principal's role. The remainder of the paper addresses the role of the principal in light of the current reform movement. Topics include the principal as leader in implementing school reform; leadership styles, particularly distributed, or collaborative, leadership; and the principal as moral leader and role model for the school community. (Contains 13 Web sources and 35 references.) (WFA)