Accountable Leadership

Abstract Leadership demands in American public schools have changed dramatically in the past 20 years. Whether–or how–the practice of leadership will change to meet those demands is an open question. The change in demands is largely a consequence of the introduction of performance-based accountability—policies that evaluate, reward, and sanction schools on the basis of measured student performance. While the merits of these policies are debatable, the fact that they have changed—probably fundamentally—the demands placed on school leaders is not.