Draws on findings from four studies by MDRC, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research firm.

Findings from these evaluations suggest that positive change is associated with a combination of instructional improvement and structural changes in school organization and class schedules. The brief is organized according to five cross-cutting challenges that high schools face in seeking to influence student outcomes: assisting students who enter high school with poor academic skills, improving instructional content and practice, creating a personalized and orderly learning environment, providing work-based learning opportunities and preparing students for the world beyond high school, and stimulating change in overstressed high schools.