The National Center on Scaling Up Effective Schools (NCSU) spent the 2011-12 school year conducting intensive case studies of four Forth Worth, Texas high schools to understand what differentiates higher and lower performing schools. It was found that high schools can address gaps in student achievement by developing policies and practices that help students learn how to take ownership and responsibility for their own learning. This brief highlights what was learned from the work with Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD) and provides examples of policies and practices to develop student ownership and responsibility.