District-level leadership often has been perceived as irrelevant to educational reform. This study compared district political and apolitical board and superintendent turnover to student performance change on the state criterion-referenced test. Results included student test score decline as board turnover increased, particularly in smaller districts and when delineating politically motivated board turnover. Also, student test scores declined in small, rural districts where there was no superintendent change over the course of the eight-year study. Conclusions included support for the dissatisfaction theory, which predicts that politically motivated board and superintendent turnover may influence student performance. (Contains 5 tables and 1 note.)