In today's educational landscape, state and local educational agencies (SEAs and LEAs) often experience challenges connecting large-scale accountability data with actual school improvement initiatives. These challenges tend to be rooted in incoherent design and use of data systems for continuous improvement. As we aim to support SEAs in effectively using assessment and accountability data, creating coherent systems of continuous improvement is crucial. Coherent continuous improvement systems facilitate short-term, school-based experimentation to nimbly identify and iterate contextually promising practices. Additionally, coherent systems enable agencies at different levels of a system--schools, LEAs, and SEAs--to monitor growth and progress against goals, flag schools or classrooms that may need additional support, and evaluate the effectiveness of policies and programs. This paper provides a high-level overview of the key features and essential components of continuous improvement systems. Additionally, it offers some guiding principles for designing and implementing continuous improvement systems effectively. The paper concludes with specific strategies that a Comprehensive Center can offer to support SEA and LEA improvement efforts. These strategies are based on partnerships between the Appalachian Region 5 Comprehensive Center and the SEAs it serves (Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia).