The education reform movement has inspired an impressive array of school improvement programs. This article categorizes these intitiatives, summarizes policy directions, explores recent state curriculum guidelines and Northwest trends, and discusses implementation challenges. According to an Education Commission of the States study, most initiatives focus on the classroom as the unit of change, require districts and schools to establish clear academic goals, and involve collections of student data to measure progress. The 50-state study also notes trends such as major reforms and funding increases in California and Florida and a focus in other states on decentralization, database research, curriculum alignment, basic skills, and business and political involvement. Guidelines differ, but most states are moving toward establishing detailed, skills-oriented, common learning curricula on which to base standards. Northwest and Pacific states' efforts echo these trends; information is given for Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Success of school improvement efforts will depend on how effectively state, district, and school levels work together and on interactions among policy, management, and service areas at each level. Raising curriculum standards may have both positive and negative effects on students. Along with higher achievement levels, schools might be facing increased numbers of droputs, more stratification, and less student choice. Included are 3 figures and 16 references. (MLH)