Comparative data from three middle schools, all in one large urban school district in the Pacific Northwest, are used to identify criteria for evaluating student discipline policies and to generate theoretical statements of how school administration affects student behavior. An introduction summarizes the study's goals and assumptions and discusses potential variances in policy content and effectiveness. Background information is provided on the following: the policies of the district studied and the characteristics of participating schools: administrative organization, policy content, and policy initiation and modification in each school; and the process of data collection through examining school discipline referral records and through teacher and student questionnaires. The next two sections report and analyze findings. Section E describes the differences among schools in three aspects of policy and analyzes the causes of policy differences. Section F describes differences in teachers' and students' acceptance of policies and the incidence of misbehavior and analyzes the reasons for these differences. Finally, the study's hypotheses are reformulated and summarized. Sample teacher and student questionnaires are appended. References are included. (MCG)