A case study was conducted on how principals are selected in American public school districts. Chapters 1-3 describe and evaluate conventional selection practices in 10 randomly sampled school districts; these include vacancy announcements, selection criteria, applicant pools, screening, and employment decisions. These procedures as currently practiced do not do justice to the importance of the principalship, nor do they manifest any consistent likelihood of attracting or selecting the best qualified candidates. Chapter 3, "Pathways to the Principalship," provides case histories of five principals of varying competence, in order to illustrate the vagaries of the selection process from the applicants' perspective. Chapters 4 and 5 describe three promising alternative procedures currently in use at five school districts: (1) assessment centers; (2) district operated internships; and (3) "exemplary" common practices. A comparative analysis follows, delineating the differences between the conventional practices and these alternatives. The essential advantages of the latter derive from sequential screening, which provides more objective, reliable, and comprehensive data for assessing applicants, so that appointments are based more on merit than on contingencies. Guidelines are therefore included for developing or revising a principal selection procedure. A bibliography and an appendix describing the study design and methodology are included. (TE)