This book examines the realities of educational change from the perspective of reform-minded teachers, focusing on how the professional work of teachers mediates the translation of the new educational orthodoxy into sustained and enhanced levels of student learning. The book charts the perceptions and experiences of 29 teachers in grades 7 and 8 from four school districts, showing how they grappled with such initiatives as integrated curriculum, common learning standards, and alternative assessment. It discusses how well the new orthodoxy of educational reform meets the complex and diverse learning needs of today's adolescents. Part 1, "The Substance of Change," introduces the new educational orthodoxy, describes the study of 29 teachers, and focuses on: standards and outcomes, new developments in classroom assessment, and the teachers' experiences with curriculum integration. Part 2, "The Process of Change," looks at the intellectual and emotional work that teachers have to do when engaging in change efforts, the kinds of conditions that support and sustain teachers in the midst of change, and what has been learned about learning to change from this study of 29 teachers. (Contains 248 references.) (SM)