Whether different amounts of general job stress and stress related to the Alabama Performance-Based Accreditation Standards were experienced by teachers and principals was studied in a sample of 65 principals and 242 teachers from 9 Alabama school systems. All subjects completed the Alabama Performance-Based Accreditation Standards Stress Measure, and the Measure of Educator Stress, a general measure of job stress. Discriminant analysis was performed on the responses of 141 teachers and 39 principals. Teachers experienced more stress than principals, with largest sources of stress being job overload, relationships with students, salary and compensation, and subordinate-superordinate relationships. A performance-based accreditation system may be very helpful in school improvement, but to make its use less stressful, teachers should be extremely involved in plans for change. Staff development aimed at fostering a more internal locus of control should be promoted, with research to determine if changing the control orientation reduces stress. Five tables present analysis results. Forty-six references are included. (SLD)