ABSTRACT
A potential and often cited barrier to the development of a holistic practice of instructional leadership is the very policies that dictate the need for the practice. At the most basic level the intention of all policies is to control human behavior for the benefit of the general welfare of the population. The accountability policies of the late 1990s and early part of the 21st century are predicated on a reward and punishment mentality. Through them schools and potentially the educators in them are rewarded for student success on state tests of literacy, mathematics, and science and are punished for low levels of success on the same tests. Principals were expected to show improvement on their school's state test scores in a year and in each year they were subsequently employed at the school.
