Administrators and board members often wonder how their respective governing bodies measure up to others. To help them gauge their success, some benchmarks that diocesan, elementary and secondary school boards, commissions, and councils can use are presented here. The information was gathered through surveys, the results of which are coupled with examples and stories from the field. The information is presented in six chapters. A historical overview of Catholic Education Boards is followed by some of the characteristics of diocesan and local boards, such as board structure, board authority, board size, board chairperson, and other information. No matter their makeup, all boards have activities and responsibilities that are discussed in the next chapter. Areas focused upon include accountability, areas of responsibility, main achievement, and training. Following a description of the makeup and responsibilities of these boards, the effectiveness of these groups is characterized. Perceived effectiveness, predictors of perceived effectiveness, the ownership of issues, effective committees, effective communication, and factors leading to main achievements are all discussed. Finally, some benchmarks of excellence and practical applications for elementary and secondary school boards and for diocesan boards are profiled. Thirty appendices (covering more than half of the book) contain survey methodology, board member profiles, and other information. (RJM)