Practicing school principals were surveyed to determine their opinions regarding the most effective preparation curriculum for principals. A total of 100 Louisiana principals, drawn equally from elementary, middle or junior high, and high school, were given a survey instrument containing 52 course titles and asked to rank order the 12 courses they believed comprised the most effective principalship preparation curriculum. Results were compared with the current 30-hour curriculum for the preparation and certification of principals in Louisiana. Results show that obvious differences existed between the current curriculum and the rank-order list of top 12 courses. Several courses included on the present state certification list received very low rankings by the respondents--Educational Research, Philosophy of Education, and History of Education. Two courses Planning, Organizing, and Decision Making and the Psychology of Instruction and Learning--that appeared in the top 12 had no comparable courses in the present state list. Discussions with practicing school principals indicated that many principals believed that courses such as research, history, philosophy, and statistics were often taught with too much emphasis on theory and not enough on application. The principal survey and an item-by-item breakdown of responses and rankings are appended. (WD)