A review of research linking elementary principal "antecedents" (defined as traits), behaviors, school conditions, and student outcomes furnishes few supportable generalizations. The studies relating principal antecedents with behavior and principal antecedents with organizational variables reveals that the trait theory of leadership has fared badly in studies of elementary school principals. Perhaps the safest generalization yielded by the review draws a connection between principal behavior (such as leadership style) and organizational variables (such as school climate, teacher performance, or school innovativeness), specifically, between elementary school principal leadership style and school innovativeness. Although contingency studies relating situational variables and principal behavior are still in infancy, the findings so far justify a continuance of this line of investigation. Perhaps the highest research priority should be accorded to the links among principal effectiveness, organizational variables (or conditions), and student outcomes. Yet it is important to remember that the principal's task is not to bring about these organizational conditions singlehandedly but to lead others to bring about these conditions and that the definition of effectiveness is multidimensional. Lengthy tables in the appendices summarize the important components of the studies reviewed. (Author/JM)