A changing lens of leadership: Examining the practices of elementary school principals within the context of high -stakes accountability. Descriptive research

Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and describe principal leadership practices, which were associated with sustained growth in student achievement as measured by the Academic Performance Index. Also, the study examined the similarities and differences in the perceptions of those practices as reported by teachers, parents, and the principals themselves.;Methodology. Five elementary schools within an urban unified school district were chosen to participate in this study. Selected schools met the set criteria for the study, which were: they outperformed other elementary schools in the district during the initial four years of the State Testing and Reporting System as reported in the Academic Performance Index; and principals had been at the same site for the duration of the years of the study and were in the position at the time of the study.;Findings. The data suggest that principals, parents, and teachers of elementary schools that demonstrated an increase in student achievement as measured by external accountability systems perceived principals to demonstrate a commitment to school academic improvement, communicate high expectations for student academic performance, and ensure systematic use of data to create internal accountability systems to measure student progress. The data also suggest that principals aligned the sites' curricular programs and instructional practices with the district's theory of action to create coherence between the requirements of external accountability systems and school site practices and programs.;Conclusions and recommendations. The following conclusions were made: (1) principal leadership practices were instrumental in creating the culture and climate and instructional programs to support student achievement; (2) principals understood and implemented a "systems" perspective to achieve congruence with external requirements of the state and federal accountability systems, and (3) the district's Theory of Action framed the work of the school sites. The following recommendations are made: (1) schools and districts should use the momentum generated by the requirements of external accountability systems to focus on the implementation and monitoring of successful principal practices; and (2) administrative training and professional development should incorporate the teaching and modeling of leadership practices proven to be positively correlated with increased student achievement.