To assure accountability to educational policy developed by elected and appointed leaders, agencies and organizations must adopt high quality evaluation designs tailored to meet three basic tenets: (1) different processes for policy formation and demonstration of accountability; (2) clear accountability expectations built into policies; (3) responsibility for accountability focused at level of application. There is a need to swing from a political to a knowledge base in decisions to carry out policy directives. School operations are often based on tenacity, authority, or intuition instead of information. Accomplishments must be based on astuteness rather than opinion backed by power. Success in demonstrating accountability requires reliable and valid knowledge and technology. Two figures are included. (EJS)