During 1983 and 1984, 202 high schools were selected for national recognition as exemplary institutions through the Secondary School Recognition Program (SSRP) of the United States Department of Education. This paper identifies factors common to successful secondary schools and develops propositions about secondary school effectiveness. Data were analyzed from the following sources: school applications, site report visits, and transcripts of discussions between site visitors and SSRP panelists. Successful secondary schools exhibited the following characteristics: clearly defined and agreed-upon goals; high expectations; a high level of professional collaboration; positive and open student-teacher relationships; management of change; strong instructional leadership; a high level of community involvement; a high level of extracurricular participation; and a balance between control and delegation. The data suggest that the two competing theories of organizational success--the school effectiveness model and the excellence model--are partial theories that may complement each other. High productivity best described the SSRP schools, in that they combined effective techniques with strong work cultures. Nine tables are included. (LMI)