To broaden the scope of effective schools research by including change processes and a wider unit of study, this project investigated three Georgia school districts demonstrating improvements in student achievement for three consecutive years. Research identified these elements: (1) the sequence and influence of events, factors, and people contributing to improvement; (2) commonalities among districts; and (3) factors unique to individual systems. Selection was based on improved scores on state reading and mathematics criterion-referenced tests by fourth and eighth graders. Researchers interviewed 30 administrators, teachers, and office personnel in each district for 1 hour. Questions concerned opinions about student gains, key events, influential people, school changes, and informants' changes. Eight categories, reported as common findings, revealed districts' commonalities: awareness and alignment, teaching and materials, planning and sharing, progress review, system-wide policies, competition and cooperation, influential persons, and costs. Conclusions involved four dimensions in overall change processes. First, a dialog about test importance and improvement plans was established among teachers and administrators. Second, an infrastructure facilitated dialog by increasing supervisory assistance for teachers. Third, instructional leadership was distributed so that various positions had specifically defined responsibilities for instructional improvement. Fourth, a "fulcrum" of support for teachers was provided as the "lever" of increased expectations was pushed. (CJH)