Research on school reform efforts and reform evaluation and the recognition that individual students are in constant transition and are members of multiple groups whose dynamics differ over the duration of schooling were examined. A conceptual framework for developing design and analysis strategies for investigating educational reform efforts is described. A research strategy of examining educational processes and effects generated by reform programs on outcomes is discussed. A setting in which several well-defined programs of early education are implemented in multiple sites for a period of several years is examined. Suggested investigation criteria in research and evaluation in school reform include: (1) identification of interactive effects of program types with types of students; (2) the relation of educational processes to performance and program definition to processes; (3) the degree of program implementation precepts in relation to estimates of program impact; (4) group composition and student role effects on individual opportunities and behavior; and (5) students' class to class transitions and program/non-program participation needs to determine discontinuities in instructional and social experiences for educational performance. (CM)