This program evaluation assessed the utility and efficacy of lead4ward toward facilitating meaningful instructional planning, and improving STAAR reading, English language arts, and math performance of students whose teachers participated in lead4ward professional development. A web-based survey on HISD's HUB yielded responses from 340 educators who had direct exposure to lead4ward. The highest percentages of respondents found that lead4ward was closely aligned to TEKS (87.1). In addition, 79.0% of respondents indicated that they used lead4ward in grade level, developmental planning, and PLCs meetings. Nearly 70.0% of respondents noted that the Field Guides were helpful in planning and implementing lessons well (69.8%). Respondents found that lead4ward resources improved proficiency among students "more than a little" in mathematics, English language arts/reading, science, social studies, teacher induction, and intervention/RTI. Instructional Tools were found to be the "most useful" among tools. Performance Standards, Data Tools, Academic Vocabulary Resources, lead4ward Reports in OnTrack, and lead4ward App were considered "more than fairly useful" by respondents. Learning Videos, Field Guides, State Accountability Quicklooks, and Test Accessibility and Special Education Resources were rated as "fairly useful". Statistically significant increases were found in the STAAR 3-8 mean math scale scores of student groups as they progressed from 3rd to 4th through 7th to 8th grades. Small to medium effects were found among 3rd to 5th and 6th to 8th-grade students in reading. Propensity-score matching yielded no statistically significant differences in the 2019 English I and Algebra I EOC mean scale scores of treatment and control-group students, after controlling for background characteristics and 8th-grade reading and math scores. However, gains in favor of treatment group students were observed on the Algebra I EOC. Implications included positive benefits of lead4ward based on students' test scores and educators' perceptions.