This paper examines the contributions of the two dominant theories of school improvement--effective schools and school restructuring--to education. The first section reviews effective schools theory; the second section reviews the school restructuring literature, with attention to its extension of tenets of the effective schools paradigm. Each section includes a brief historical overview, a taxonomical or conceptual framework, and details of the major contributions. A conclusion is that the effective schools movement established a basis for school improvement founded on a belief in the educability of all learners and a focus on outcomes, school responsibility, learning-centered teaching, and the whole environment. The school restructuring movement holds promise for educational improvement, based on the legacy of effective schools theory. (48 references) (LMI)