Principals play a primary role in the school-reform process, acting as both the agents of change and targets of change. This National Center for Education Statistic's (NCES) Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) provides descriptive information about the changing nature of the individuals who serve as principals in public and private schools, including their perceptions and the challenges they face. The report uses data from the 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1993-94 administrations of SASS to examine the principalship in the reform environment of the late 1980s and early 1990s. For each of those years, approximately 80,000 principals served in the nation's public schools and approximately 25,000 served in private schools. The report provides information on job demographics; principals' salaries and benefits; their education and their experience; their perceptions of serious problems; and their goals, influence, and career plans. An index, 13 figures, and 5 tables are included. Appendices contain tables of estimates and standard errors, technical notes, and SASS data products. (Contains 36 references.) (LMI)