During the Western Australian School Effectiveness Study (WASES), 28 rural and urban high schools and 3,500 students were surveyed to investigate features of effective schools, and 21 schools and 1,024 students were studied longitudinally. Effective schools were identified in terms of higher than expected science and mathematics achievement, when socioeconomic status (SES) and other student factors were controlled. This paper presents case studies of four WASES schools: an effective, middle-SES urban school; an effective, low-SES rural school; and two ineffective, low-SES rural schools. Data collection included interviews of principals and science teachers and observations of science classrooms. Ineffective schools displayed high levels of stress combined with low teacher morale and internal conflicts among both students and staff. At-risk students, often Aboriginal students and those suffering from health-related problems, were less likely to learn as teachers spent much time on student behavior problems. Other characteristics of ineffective schools were student violence, teacher discontent, high level of teacher transfers out of the school, and teacher fear of students. Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds or disadvantaged family structures tended to have poor educational attitudes. Effective schools had strong leadership, good teacher-administrator relationships, clear and consistent rules and discipline, teacher collaboration, high teacher expectations, and supportive parent collaborations. (Contains 34 references and photographs.) (SV)