The federal government is making a $3.5 billion investment to turn around 800 to 900 low-performing schools. In exchange for up to $6 million for each school over a three-year period, these schools have chosen to pursue one of four improvement models--school closure, restart as a charter school, turnaround through replacement of the principal and at least half of the teaching staff, or transformation, which requires the school to implement numerous reforms. The most popular of the four federal options for academically struggling schools--transformation--carries a series of aggressive practices, never packaged previously. Without a research base on which to proceed, how this option will play out remains uncertain.