This needs assessment identified six educational needs and issues of schools in the Northwest region, prioritized Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) areas of emphasis, evaluated research/development strategies to address these needs and priorities, and applied assessment results to NWREL program planning activities. Assessment information came from client follow-up surveys, requests for NWREL services, NWREL advisory committee input, a local education agency survey, a school improvement organization survey, and state-level school improvement agency planning meetings. Identified needs included: (1) intervention/prevention models for students at risk of school failure due to substance abuse, handicap, language, ethnicity, economic status, delinquency or other factors; (2) models for structuring school programs to better serve students, prepare them for technological change, and integrate basic skills with life skills, vocational skills, reasoning skills; (3) closer linkages between teacher education institutions and public school systems to better prepare and upgrade teachers; (4) methods to promote public awareness and local support for schools; (5) identification of characteristics of effective school administrators and development of training programs; and (6) identification and dissemination of promising educational practices among small, rural schools. Needs in NWREL priority areas included partnerships between schools and businesses/human resource agencies, teacher evaluation, professional development, school-based management, and technological awareness. (LFL)