Parents and policymakers have long sought to measure the quality of their public schools and to report that publicly in ways that are fair and equitable. In recent years, with a renewed focus on student outcomes, this effort has become a very public and sometimes acrimonious debate. With this project, Education Commission of the States (ECS) sought to answer three key questions from various stakeholders in a way that assists parents and policymakers in creating school accountability systems or "report cards" that are transparent and effective. The key questions and responding groups include: (1) Of researchers--Are the report cards easy to find?; (2) Of parents--Are the report cards easy to understand?; and (3) Of experts--What indicators are essential for measuring school and district performance? Experts selected five indicators they see as essential for any state's school accountability system: (1) student achievement; (2) student academic growth; (3) achievement gap closure; (4) graduation rates; and (5) postsecondary and career readiness. The aim of this report is to help state policymakers create accessible, useful, and effective school report cards so that states can improve their education systems by learning from each other. The following is appended: Members of the ECS School Accountability Advisory Group.