There are many accomplished school leaders in Australia, but the profession has yet to develop credible systems for recognising their impact. This article provides a progress report on research initiated by professional associations of school principals, to provide school leaders with authentic and feasible methods for documenting their practice for purposes such as professional learning and certification. Recent research indicates that successful school principals draw on the same repertoire of leadership practices. Standards for school leadership synthesise this research to form a bridge between research and practice that serves a variety of purposes, including self-assessment, leadership preparation and development, selection, professional certification and career progression. To be useful, however, the standards need to be operationalised. The article outlines this research program, and the results of a pilot program that field tested methods school principals might use to show how they meet leadership standards in their school context. Procedures for training assessors and setting standards for certification were also developed and tested for their reliability. The article summarises lessons learned during the research about the challenges involved in administering an assessment program and supporting school principals as they describe their leadership, prepare evidence of its efficacy and reflect on its impact.