In this Texas state wide study, the degree to which principal tenure was related to Texas elementary school accountability ratings in the 2016-2017 school year was addressed. Inferential statistical procedures revealed the presence of statistically significant differences in principal tenure between Texas elementary schools that met or did not meet the four designation distinctions: (a) Top 25% Closing Performance Gaps Distinction, (b) ELA/Reading Academic Achievement Distinction, (c) Mathematics Academic Achievement Distinction, and (d) Science Academic Achievement Distinction. Elementary schools that met any one of the four designation distinctions had principals with statistically significantly more years of experience than elementary schools that did not meet any one of these four designation distinctions. As such, evidence was established that principal experience clearly matters with respect to student academic success. Implications for policy and for practice, as well as recommendations for future research, were discussed.