ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how data is central to the management of school principals and leadership teams. It provides together research data from school leaders as they took part in the wider research project, along with published research that examines how data is used to manage principals’ performance. The principals participating in the project were located in various departmental regions: schools were located as far as 600km away from each other. The principals participating in the project concurred that the School Performance Profile was central to the performance management of principals and schools. The chapter also provides an extended excerpt of a discussion between school leaders on the issue of political involvement in schools that was being exerted through regional offices. The textually authorised pressure to improve National Assessment Programme: Literacy and Numeracy data that was being exerted through the regions was present for all of the school principals.
