Administrators and their teaching staffs share responsibility for meeting federal, state, and district mandates regarding the delivery of educational services. Assessment and action plans, which grow from the partnership between the principal and teacher, are the key to improving student learning and performance. Year-end improvement plans are most effective if they begin with an assessment of teacher strengths. This guide provides 60 proficiency categories for use in improvement plans, and includes 600 proficiency assessment statements in 60 different categories. These assessment categories include accountability, curriculum knowledge, curriculum management, discipline, instructional delivery, leadership skills, managing diversity, professional development, relationships with parents and community, relationships with colleagues, habits, motivation, student behaviors, use of technology, and time management. The guide also includes vocabulary aids for use in improvement plans, and a plan organizer listing proficiency categories. Administrators can use the organizer to assemble a professional improvement plan tailored to their particular needs. This plan can be used to promote accountability through use of the provided progress reports to measure teacher improvement. Self-assessment tools allow teachers to contribute to the assessment process prior to completion of improvement plans. The most critical components of an effective improvement plan are suggestions for improvement and action plans, and this guide includes numerous writing suggestions and a wide array of sample improvement plans. This work concludes with a brief list of frequently asked questions, including questions regarding the applicability of the suggestions to unique school circumstances, the durability of the guidance given rapid changes in education, and the use of the enclosed CD-ROM of forms. (TEJ)