Principals historically have needed to adapt to dramatic shifts that impact their schools, including significant policy changes at the state and federal levels. For example, the 2008 study recorded principals' reactions to No Child Left Behind (NCLB), signed into law in early 2002. NCLB substantially altered the landscape of education across the nation, and the federal government was widely perceived as having too heavy a hand on education policy. In contrast, the recently enacted Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (2015) has been touted as returning a significant amount of control back to the states. Since the 1928 publication of its first 10-year study, "The K-8 Principal," the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) has been collecting data on the climate, challenges, and conditions that mark the principalship. This report is the ninth in this series of research studies, and it imparts new information about the current education climate; the challenges veteran, early career, and assistant principals face; the students they serve; and the conditions under which they work. [Foreword by L. Earl Franks.]