Developments in several states suggest that a state-imposed accountability system is gradually taking shape. State authorities have established both incentive systems to reward high-performing school districts and systems of sanctions to be applied to districts with a record of repeated low performance. To accomplish this, a majority of states are now collecting from local districts a formidable array of statistics on student performance, including, at the very least, student achievement test scores, minimum competency scores, or both. Incentives are generally of two types: financial and deregulatory. Consequences of a state takeover of a district are also discussed. (13 references) (SI)