This publication summarizes the findings of a 3-year study concerning the effectiveness of instruction that emphasizes meaning and understanding. In particular, the instructional approaches embedded the teaching of discrete skills in context and drew connections between academic learning and students' home lives. These strategies were applied in mathematics, reading, and writing instruction in 140 classrooms across 15 schools serving low-income students. The findings indicate that teachers most engaged in alternative practices were likely to have orderly classrooms in which various types of activities and interactions among students and teachers were encouraged. The use of standardized tests, writing samples, and tests of problem-solving proficiency produced evidence concerning the effects of these instructional practices on advanced skills and basic skills. Students exposed to instruction emphasizing meaning and understanding performed better on tests for advanced academic skills than did students not exposed to this type of instruction, even after initial differences in student achievement and poverty level were taken into consideration. The results also show that the proposed instructional strategies facilitate the mastery of basic skills or at least do not impede their mastery. Seventeen exhibits illustrate the findings. (JB)