This manual provides suggestions for implementing a school improvement process using selected program and content areas from the Michigan State Board of Education-approved K-12 Program Standards of Quality. The suggestions were made by school district staffs that took part in the field test of the document during the 1983-84 school year. The first section outlines nine steps for implementing the standards: (1) establish a school improvement committee, (2) define an effective school, (3) analyze student performance, (4) analyze the school program, (5) select areas for attention, (6) develop a school improvement plan of action, (7) monitor the implementation, (8) evaluate the results, and (9) recycle (i.e., re-evaluate continuously). Thereafter, five chapters present the following instruments: (1) a checklist for determining areas to be studied, (2) directions for completing the subsequent survey, (3) directions for surveying teachers' perceptions of overall student achievement, (4) directions for determining desirability by staff of program standards, and (5) a sample of completed standards and recommendations. (TE)