Within the United States of America, a few states enacted a new educational accountability system that grades school districts and campuses that is measured by student performance. The state of Texas implemented the A-F accountability grading systems to inform the community and parents about the campuses in a simplistic layout and language. These accountability systems were developed in order to fulfill federal requirements like the No Child Left Behind Act, 2002 (NCLB) and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) 2015, which encouraged systemic improvement across states. This qualitative study utilized elementary teacher understandings of the new A-F accountability system and teacher efficacy regarding making an instructional difference in student achievement. This study concentrated on third, fourth, and fifth-grade elementary teachers since the elementary campus letter grade received is solely based on the mandated state assessment. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]