Research-based policies that provide sustained support can transform struggling schools into effective schools. Serious reform models like the Community Schools Initiative in New York City offer an alternative to the false promise of quickly boosting test scores and calling a school “transformed.” Yet approaches grounded in the idea of sustained improvement present a different challenge: what should policymakers expect, and by when?

This policy memo describes the major findings from research about the stages of school improvement—research that informs a reasonable timetable for the NYC Community Schools Initiative.