The Florida Council on Educational Management (FCEM), a 17-member council appointed by the Governor, Senate, and House of Representatives, is central to the present control of public school management in Florida. The duties of the FCEM are to identify: (1) relevant management competencies of school managers; (2) standards and procedures for evaluating manager performance; (3) training needed for developing competent school managers; (4) manager screening and selection criteria; (5) procedures for school manager certification; and (6) procedures for compensation of school managers. Following a synthesis of FCEM commissioned studies, a summary report proposed a list of 19 competencies as descriptive of "high performing" educational managers. The FCEM next developed a five-component Managerial Effectiveness Plan. Objective and performance oriented selection procedures of educational managers were pilot tested in several districts. A three-tier certification pilot included: educational leadership certification for all managers; school principal certification for school leaders; and professional school principal certification for experienced school leaders. A certification examination, pilot tested using graduate education students, formed the beginning data set for item and test analyses. The final form of the certification test was forwarded to the State for a two-year field test. (PN)