This issue brief discusses the process of identifying a broadly defined set of desired outcomes for children and youth. It looks at the experiences of four states making progress in this area--Oregon, Texas, Kentucky, and Kansas--in order to illustrate the implications for state education agency policy and practice. It presents principles for ensuring that outcome-based education efforts are compatible with and supportive of more comprehensive attempts to achieve cross-sector accountability for the well-being and success of children and families. It challenges state education agencies (SEAs) to measure success by how well schools contribute to helping children and youth develop a wide range of skills, competencies, and personal attributes. The role of SEA is described in relation to the following: identifying a set of cross-cutting outcomes; forging a common vision; agreeing on outcomes; and identifying indicators. The following accountability efforts are described: (1) setting goals for concerted statewide action in Oregon; (2) restructuring human services in Texas; (3) taking a broad view of education reform in Kentucky; and (4) moving toward performance-based accreditation in Kansas. Two figures are included. The appendix, comprising two-thirds of the document, contains descriptions of 36 child well-being indicators. Each 1-page descriptor contains: the indicator briefly stated; significance; data requirements; current source of information; facts; and comments. (LMI)