The National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools (NSBECS) were published in 2012 to serve as both a guide and assessment tool for PK-12 Catholic school effectiveness and sustainability. The NSBECS rest on the conviction that adhering to these standards and benchmarks with fidelity will result in highly effective Catholic schools. The present study began the work of examining the use and impact of the NSBECS through two national surveys: Survey 1 (2015) focused on the scope of NSBECS implementation: who has been adopting/implementing the NSBECS and why. Survey 2 (2016) sought to better understand circumstances of implementation: how stakeholders are adopting/ implementing NSBECS and with what success. Results and analysis of both surveys demonstrated that users report the NSBECS to be a vital framework for assessing and improving Catholic school effectiveness, and generally calling Catholic schools to greater excellence. Equally important is the scholarly significance of recognizing the use and impact of comprehensive school effectiveness standards such as the NSBECS. This study provides the starting point and new direction for all sectors of education as educators understand the critical impact of such standards, and emphasize the importance of adopting a systemic school wide approach to school improvement and sustainability.