Findings from an evaluation of Grand Rapids' staff development program, the Effective Instruction initiative, are presented in this paper. The program consisted of inservice teacher training and practice, coaching, and feedback. The level of classroom implementation of program concepts and skills was assessed through pre- and post-observations of classroom performance and structured interviews with a sample of participating teachers in two elementary schools. Student achievement was measured by comparing before and after standardized math and reading test scores and comparing scores with those of control classrooms. Observation findings indicate that both schools demonstrated a 10-15 percent increase in productive teacher behaviors. Interviews showed a significant increase in the level of instructional thought, suggesting the effectiveness of behavior modeling, practice, and coaching. Student outcomes showed gains in achievement scores as compared with those of the matched control schools. Seven tables are included. (10 references) (LMI)