The purpose of this study was to assess current supervisory practice and assess the impact of certain factors on supervision: declining enrollments, declining budgets, collective bargaining, management efficiency studies, principals' inability to commit time to supervision, and decentralization. Data were gathered from 16 districts (urban, suburban, and medium size city), both through questionnaires and on-site interviews with teachers, teacher organization officers, supervisors, principals, assistant superintendents, and superintendents. Studied was the role of supervision (rather than the position of supervision) consisting of inservice programs, teacher evaluation, curriculum improvement, and instructional supervisory services. From analysis of the data, several best bets for improvement of supervisory services emerged: decentralization, building principals' further involvement in supervisory service, defining supervision so as to eliminate the evaluative aspect, and increasing opportunities for teachers to receive supervisory services of all kinds. (Author/MLF)