The time between the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and its replacement, the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, marked a period of unprecedented policy-driven education reform. Unfortunately, the major objectives of the policy were not achieved, and the very problems it sought to fix still exist. One reason for this was an overreliance on testing and test scores as a lever for change. This study's purpose was to explore the ways in which an educational leader could bring the tools of the practitioner-scholar to bear on public policy problems worth solving. This research question was addressed through three distinct, but interconnected, articles that utilized different methodologies. The first demonstrated the application of the tools of public policy analysis to bilingual education policy at the federal, state, and local levels. The second critiqued New York State's student growth model used in the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) using quantitative methods. The third analyzed the broader APPR policy and sought to address its many shortcomings by proposing a new, viable policy alternative for consideration by policymakers. The major implications of this study include a strong caution against the use of standardized tests of student achievement to measure progress toward policy goals, a demonstration of the importance of identifying and applying criteria to assess public education policies, and a recognition of educational leaders as important actors in the policy making process. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]