A study examined the impact of the "Closing the Achievement Gap" (CAG schools) program on the academic achievement of students in 30 schools serving high percentages of African American and economically disadvantaged students in West Virginia (WV), 2004-2008. The program assigned experienced educators, "CAG liaisons", to the schools to provide school improvement coaching. The study used (a) a quasi-experimental approach to examine the differences between 12 CAG and 12 non-CAG matching schools for fourth-grade reading/language arts and mathematics achievement on the statewide summative assessment; (b) a comparison of gains in the percentage of students who achieved proficiency for the same subject areas, from CAG schools and all other WV schools during those years; (c) focus groups conducted with CAG liaisons to collect data about their work and their perceptions about impacts beyond academic achievement; and (d) CAG school faculty responses to three research-validated survey instruments that measured the schools' capacity for improvement, adherence to continuous school improvement processes, and overall school culture. Analysis of achievement testing showed promise for the program, especially for African American students. Results of the focus groups and surveys provide information about which school improvement efforts received the most attention, and identified areas of strength and needed improvement in CAG schools at the end of the 5-year program. Null Hypothesis Significance Testing and Results of T Tests Between Program Years is appended. (Contains 229 tables, 36 figures and 5 footnotes.)