To give states the information they need to sustain hard-fought education reform effectively, Achieve conducted research on state education reforms that have been sustained successfully for over a decade or more. Funded by the GE Foundation, Achieve hopes this work will help other state leaders, wherever they may be on their road to reform, replicate successful strategies and accelerate systemic reform in their own states, particularly around the college- and career-ready agenda. The project includes: (1) Four case studies that examine both governmental and non-governmental strategies that were effective in making reform last in Indiana, Massachusetts, South Carolina and Texas; (2) A paper that draws on and synthesizes the case studies' overarching lessons and states' strategies for sustainability; and (3) A tool that states can use in their own planning. The four states were chosen because they were able to pass and sustain significant education reforms over time, for at least a decade. The focus of the case studies is not on the specific policies passed, but rather the process and strategies the states employed to make significant change last. The South Carolina EIA (Education Improvement Act) story is often cited as one of the strongest examples of a successful campaign to adopt, implement and sustain a comprehensive education policy agenda. This case study seeks to describe the processes and decisions that allowed for such a successful adoption and implementation, as well as identify lessons other states may use when crafting and putting a major policy agenda into place to ensure the agenda is sustained over time. What did South Carolina do? Who was involved? How did they make it happen? While South Carolina is still struggling to raise achievement and attainment today, this should not detract from the important lessons everyone can learn from the deliberate and far-reaching steps South Carolina took in the 1980s to ensure the EIA was sustained successfully for well over a decade.