Brief summaries of activities and tentative findings of six projects conducted by the National Center on Effective Secondary Schools are provided in this report. Project titles are as follows: Clearinghouse on Academic Achievement; Noninstructional Influences on Adolescent Engagement and Achievement; The Stratification of Learning Opportunities in Middle and High School; Higher Order Thinking in the High School Curriculum; Research on Programs and Policies Affecting At-Risk Youth; and Alternative Structures and the Quality of Teachers' Worklife. Institutional functions and publications are also listed. (LMI)