Since the passage of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, a superintendent's role has been redefined and more focus has been placed on student achievement. Research demonstrates that rural public schools are faced with an educational crisis. Rural districts are faced with an epidemic of declining enrollments/budgets, increased drop-out rates, low academic performance, poor attendance, high student mobility, low income classifications of poverty and/or homelessness, and unfunded mandates. These challenges cripple rural districts and prevent rural superintendents from implementing an appropriate educational model that promotes student achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between effective leadership qualities, practices, and approaches of school district superintendents and the impact they had on student achievement. The population for this quantitative research study included 34 superintendents from rural communities in Illinois. All 34 superintendents were issued a three (3) section "Rural Superintendent Survey" (modified from Gibbings, 2008) that consisted of 64 questions designed to measure how each superintendent leadership quality, practice, and approach impact student achievement in their respective school districts. The overarching question for this study was, "What superintendent leadership qualities, practices, and approaches as defined by the "Rural Superintendent Survey" are implemented by superintendents in rural communities in Illinois to improve student achievement?" That question was comprised of 14 hypotheses and corresponding null hypotheses. The results from a zero order correlation and logistical regression analyses based on 14 leadership functions indicate that the leadership qualities, practices, and approaches analyzed in this study revealed that school district superintendent leadership qualities, practices, and approaches have no statistical significance on impacting student achievement. Student achievement was measured by a districts ability to obtain Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as defined by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]