This Delphi analysis of the "Instructionally Effective School" (IES) was designed to measure the current state of the art and science of school-based teaching and learning for poor children, and to describe the policy implications of the developmental level for school people, districts, states, and the federal government. Teams of experts in each of the component areas of the IES circulated inventories to the panel membership, who recorded their opinions about each proposition, the confidence level of their estimates, and their basis for judgment. These data were then recirculated, so that panel members could refine their judgments and comment on the developing consensus. This methodology is described in detail, and results of the analysis are reported for the following six contributing factors: (1) teacher characteristics and behavior; (2) administrator characteristics and behavior; (3) student body composition; (4) school learning climate; (5) pupil evaluation procedures; and (6) curriculum materials. Policy implications are then summarized for each of these factor areas. The study concludes that substantial improvements have occurred across the board in the teaching of needy children. (TE)