A research study of the implementation of "good ideas" in 14 schools came to the conclusion that differences in school organization and climate cause differences in the success of school improvement. Specific aspects of organization and climate in these schools, called factors of school context, are the following: resources, incentives, linkages, priorities, factions, turnover, current practices, and prior projects. During this 3-year study, the research team found that when these 8 factors were favorable, implementation of "good ideas" seemed to go smoothly and the intended improvements took hold. This publication is intended to help school staff concerned about improvement apply the results of this research. Organized into three sections, the report (1) presents a process for analyzing how a particular school stands with respect to the eight factors; (2) illustrates how schools can vary on the eight factors by providing specific examples of practices and conditions; and (3) describes how school leaders used the analysis of a school's context to guide their introduction of an improvement. The report concludes with general recommendations regarding how each factor can be addressed. (MLF)