The 2015 "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA), builds upon decades of federal efforts to improve student achievement through state-level systems of accountability and school improvement (U.S. Department of Education, 2017). Research on school improvement has shown that actions of the school principal have a significant impact on school performance (Cotton, 2003; Elmore, 2000; Fullan, 2001). Marzano, Waters, and McNulty (2005) conducted a meta-analysis of 69 leadership studies and identified 21 responsibilities of the school leader that showed a significant effect on student achievement, and Massachusetts has developed and implemented 11 Conditions for School Effectiveness (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2012b) to guide school leaders to take leadership actions to improve school performance. The purpose of this quantitative study is to explore the relationship between the actions of principals of public schools in Massachusetts, grouped by state accountability status, and Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Conditions for School Effectiveness. The conceptual framework of this study is grounded in the meta-analyses conducted by Marzano et al. (2005) in "School Leadership that Works" cross-referenced with the 11 Conditions for School Effectiveness identified by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (2012b). The findings from this research indicate that the 11 Conditions for School Effectiveness are not widely used by Massachusetts principals, regardless of accountability status. Additionally, several of the most common leadership actions taken by Massachusetts principals do not align to the 11 Conditions but are shown by Marzano et al. (2005) to be effective leadership actions. Principals with longevity are shown to commonly implement a larger number of leadership actions shown in the literature to be effective, but, overall, principals in schools designated at various levels of state accountability status do not take significantly different actions. [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.]