What can school leaders really do to increase student achievement, and which leadership practices have the biggest impact on school effectiveness? For the first time in the history of leadership research in the United States, here's a book that answers these questions definitively and gives you a list of leadership competencies that are research-based. Drawing from 35 years of studies, the authors explain critical leadership principles that every administrator needs to know: (1) 21 leadership responsibilities that have a significant effect on student learning and the correlation of each responsibility to academic achievement gains; (2) The difference between first-order and second-order change and the leadership responsibilities--in rank order--that are most important for each; (3) How to choose the right work to focus on to improve student achievement; (4) The advantages and disadvantages of comprehensive school reform models for improving student achievement; (5) 11 factors and 39 actions that help you take a site-specific approach to improving student achievement; and (6) A five-step plan for effective school leadership that includes a strong team, distributed responsibilities, and 31 team action steps.