The implementation of standards-based accountability (SBA) interventions aimed at improving school performance often focuses on the testing component, at the expense of capacity building. This was the case in South Africa when a SBA programme was instituted by government in 2000, which was accompanied by substantial rises in senior certificate pass rates between 2000 and 2003. Our analysis indicates that the bulk of these effects was achieved by manipulating the results by means of 4 measures: eliminating high-risk candidates, encouraging candidates to register at the easier standard grade, lowering the standard of examination questions, and raising raw scores during the moderation process. However, research results from other school improvement programmes in the country indicate that significant improvement in school performance is possible when capacity-building elements are combined with accountability measures. (Contains 4 notes, 1 table and 3 figures.)