This book offers instructions for school principals, assistant principals, teachers, and district-level administrators for building a comprehensive accountability system that focuses on leadership skills. It presents recommendations for assessing and nurturing teacher performance, setting up balanced assessment and accountability policies, and making the case for standards to the public. It reveals the inherent weakness in comparing the quality of student work with that of other students and offers information about the evolution and current state of academic standards. The 14 chapters examine: (1) "The Case for Standards"; (2) "Standards and Norms: What's the Difference?" (3) "Standards-Based Performance Assessment: The Key to Standards Implementation"; (4) "Power Standards: How Leaders Add Value to State and National Standards"; (5) "Instructional Leadership"; (6) "Standards and Community Leadership: Communicating with Parents, Politicians, and Community Members"; (7) "Data-Driven Decision Making"; (8) "Creating Ownership and Support for Standards"; (9) "Redefining Educational Accountability"; (10) "Assessing Leadership Performance"; (11) "The Role of the Superintendent"; (12) "The Role of the Board of Education"; (13) "The Role of State Leadership"; and (14) "The National Leadership Imperative." The 34 appendixes present leadership tools, checklists, and forms. (Contains 64 references.) (SM)