A survey of all Ohio school districts sought to determine whether school boards expect their elementary principals to do what research says principals should do and whether they evaluate elementary principals on the basis of effective school leadership criteria. The research also tested the districts' compliance with Ohio's House Bill 769, requiring administrator evaluations to reflect job descriptions. Performance evaluation instruments and job descriptions from the 356 responding districts (67 percent) were compared with 80 verified competency statements from the Results Oriented Management in Education (Project R.O.M.E.) list. The 80 competencies covered 7 areas: curriculum/instruction, staff, pupil personnel, fiscal and support management, community relations, and systemwide policies and operations. Comparisons were further analyzed by type of evaluation instrument. The results indicate district's job description terms correspond to 65 percent of the research-based terms, and evaluation instruments include 55 percent of the competency terms promoting effectiveness. Most districts fail to comply with the Ohio law. Among the suggestions and recommendations made are that many districts should rewrite job descriptions. Three appended exhibits include project cover letters and lists of the 80 Project R.O.M.E. competencies and of another study's 92 competencies. (RW)