In response to a state supreme court decision that the state's system of schooling was unconstitutional, the Kentucky legislature passed the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. In December, 2000, a Louisville conference brought together educators, policymakers, and researchers to discuss research findings and lessons learned during 10 years of reform. Research findings included: student achievement has improved, socioeconomic status is not a major factor in school improvement, assessment and accountability can be powerful motivators to improve performance, and targeted intervention can be highly effective in improving test scores. Political lessons learned were that the integrity of the legislation could be maintained by building and sustaining a coalition to support the work of reform, and by staying the course. Policy lessons included: reform and funding must go hand in hand; good assessment is important, with continuous assessment needed to measure individual student progress and accountability tests needed to measure school success; testing and high standards must be accompanied by programs that ensure all students have support for achieving at high levels and that assist teachers in developing strategies to help diverse learners reach high levels of achievement; and good communication is essential between reform designers and implementers to give implementers a clear understanding of reform goals and purposes. (TD)