This article describes Washington State's Student Achievement Initiative, an accountability system implemented in 2005-06 that measures students' gains in college readiness, college credits earned, and degree or certificate completion. The goal of the initiative is to increase educational attainment by focusing on the critical momentum points during the student's educational journey and the strategies that promote momentum. The article will describe the foundational research, implementation process, databases associated with the initiative, results from the first performance year, lessons learned, and next steps. (Contains 2 figures and 2 tables.)