The New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC) was established in 1991 to fund the development of organizations that would create designs for innovative schools and help schools implement those designs. The plan deliberately develops expert organizations to help whole schools transform themselves. This handbook summarizes RAND's formative assessment of the NASDC initiative to develop and implement whole-school designs for improving student outcomes. Data were obtained from a review of teams' proposals, design documents, and reports submitted to NASDC. The teams varied in their progress toward the goal of full implementation. The differences were associated with several factors--team readiness, type of design and approach, and implementation strategy. Teams with effective assistance strategies provided: (1) all staff with a clear, compelling introduction to the design; (2) all staff with relevant training and modeling of new behaviors or processes; (3) concrete materials and models for use in classrooms and other forums for reform; and (4) support for day-to-day implementation. Change in schools was impeded by clashes between schools' cultures and those of the design teams and the inability to address issues of public engagement. Six figures are included. Appendices contain descriptions of the team designs and the evaluation methodology. (Contains 45 references.) (LMI)