Already under fire before spring 2020, the dominance of federally mandated test-based accountability in American education had led many educators and policymakers to decry the system as largely out of balance and to suggest that this imbalance has stifled productive local efforts toward meaningful, lasting improvements in student learning. It is not too early to conclude that all these cumulative factors will--and should--change assessment and accountability systems. But what kind of change is appropriate, and how can state boards of education support such changes? In this article, the author argues that accountability systems can play a role in an overall plan to promote student success, but they are not a "treatment" and far from a holistic prescription for education reform. Domaleski describes three key factors that are essential for leveraging the promise of accountability to improve schools: principled design, balanced and coherent structures, and reciprocal support.