High school reform has now been on the national agenda long enough that people can begin reaching conclusions about the effectiveness of various approaches to it. This article discusses several strategies of high school reforms which includes: (1) improving school climate; (2) strengthening curriculum and instruction; (3) raising graduation requirements; (4) helping freshmen get up to speed academically; and (5) preventing students from dropping out. Research suggests that more rigorous curricula and tougher graduation standards might "not" hurt graduation rates and might even help improve them. Helping educators become more supportive of students is critical, but doing so produces more significant improvements in student learning when combined with high expectations and rigorous instruction. The authors conclude that high school reform is achievable, if reformers are successful in implementing these strategies. (Contains 19 endnotes.)