Report cards (RCs) on schools have become common in several states. This study determined relationships among factors reported in RCs developed for local school districts within Tennessee in 1988-89. Every year the state board of education produces an RC for each school district containing student outcome data (test results and achievement data) and other school district data. Research questions are: (1) how do school district characteristics currently reported in the RCs relate to reported student academic achievement; (2) how do reported district characteristics relate to each other; (3) when rank-ordered on the basis of student outcomes, how do districts perform in terms of district and community characteristics reported in the RC; (4) do the reported district characteristics represent all factors that influence student academic achievement; and (5) how can findings of this study inform educational policy decisions? In all, 121 out of Tennessee's 139 school districts were considered. Results show that "good" inputs, such as money, small classes, and "good" community, do not guarantee high student achievement, and that the individual association of any one factor with high achievement is minor. Clearly, factors other than those reported in the RCs are at work in the highest and lowest performing districts. Commonly used and reported measures account for only about 25% of the variance relative to mean student outcome; the other 75% remains unexplained. Five tables and 14 figures present study data. A four-item list of references is included. (SLD)