A team of professors from the University of Nevada, Reno contends that principals who have clearly defined goals for their staff and tackle problems rather than symptoms in their schools are more likely than "care-taker" styled principals to help their schools move off the No Child Left Behind Act's "in need of improvement" list.

A team of professors from the University of Nevada, Reno contends that principals who have clearly defined goals for their staff and tackle problems rather than symptoms in their schools are more likely than "care-taker" styled principals to help their schools move off the No Child Left Behind Act's "in need of improvement" list. The team visited 16 schools designated for improvement, meeting with school principals and teachers. Although the team drew no correlation between the number of students failing proficiencies and lack of leadership at the schools, it did conclude that schools likely to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in the future were ones where principals exhibited strong leadership styles and curriculum assessments were aligned with school improvement plans.