How prepared are central office administrators to lead school districts in the face of changing standards and changing student populations? The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the responses of central office administrators in the top 5% performing school districts in Washington State with the goal of identifying common attitudes and actions in support of teaching and learning practices. The research questions for this study were: (a) Are there leadership attitudes and actions practiced by central office administrators in support of teaching and learning that are common among the top 5% performing school districts in Washington? (b) If so, what are the common leadership attitudes and actions practiced by central office administration in support of teaching and learning that positively affect student achievement in the top 5% performing school districts? The hypothesis of this study was that central office administrators in the top 5% performing school districts of Washington State would demonstrate common leadership attitudes and actions that support teaching and learning practices. The intention of this research study was to contribute to the growing body of knowledge regarding educational leadership at the central office level, with specific focus on the superintendent and assistant superintendent/curriculum directors and their actual work practices in support of teaching and learning. Common attitudes and actions were discovered, and differences and similarities were identified. Quantitative survey data were integrated with qualitative interview data to provide contextual understanding. The study explored and analyzed four best practice themes emerging from the literature review of central office best practices as related to student achievement. The themes identified in the literature review were (a) building capacity through instructional leadership; (b) ongoing, contextual professional development; (c) building coherence through systems thinking; and, (d) transparency of interactions. Based on the data of this study, common attitudes and actions related to these four themes were discovered in Washington's top 5% performing school districts. Although these common attitudes and actions may have existed in varying degrees or levels of implementation, there was a high level of agreement as to the presence of the four themes. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]