Solution-focused (SF) approaches are widely used in schools. The present study examined the effects of a central SF technique--"scaling"--on female secondary students' improvement expectancy (IE) and commitment to improvement (CTI). Popular follow-up questions were also tested. In Experiment 1, 120 students were randomly assigned to a "success scaling", "success scaling" plus follow-up SF question, or control condition. IE and CTI were higher in the scaling conditions than in the control group, but differences were small and not statistically significant. In Experiment 2, 115 students were randomly assigned to a "success scaling" plus one SF question, "success scaling" plus two SF questions, or problem-focused condition. Students in the doubly augmented scaling condition reported higher IE and CTI than students in the other conditions. However, differences were small and not statistically significant. The results of this study suggest that (success) scaling techniques may not be as effective as is widely supposed.