This review of research looks at the complex issues of school effectiveness by dividing the field into three clusters: (1) characteristics of effective teachers, (2) characteristics of effective learners, and (3) institutional and organizational characteristics of effective instruction. Research findings are summarized on college students' evaluations of their best teachers, noting their favored personality traits, behaviors in the classroom, and academic ability. Objective studies of the characteristics of award-winning teachers are also summarized. College student characteristics are discussed based on studies covering personality measures, past performances as predictors of success, and learning styles. Finally, the studies of instructional and organizational characteristics cover lectures as a teaching technique, the varieties of personalized systematic instruction, and the cognitive styles of instruction (such as discovery learning, problem solving, and contracting). (JW)