To be successful in producing improvement, assessment must be "part of a larger set of conditions that promote change" (Astin et al. 1992). To identify the enduring principles likely to produce the specific conditions to promote change, the author turned to two sources: (1) W. Edwards Deming's classic 1982 book, "Out of the Crisis: Quality, Productivity and Competitive Position." Deming identified "14 points" for the "transformation of American industry" that would allow organizations in the United States to compete in an increasingly global marketplace; and (2) the "Baldrige Excellence Framework" (2023), which is a contemporary quality and improvement program used at the state and national level by a range of nonprofit, corporate, healthcare, manufacturing, and education organizations. The author identified seven essential principles that are central to using the work of assessment to support improvement in higher education. This article presents these principles, along with brief explanations.