To support states in improving educational results and functional outcomes for children with disabilities while ensuring compliance with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) through state monitoring activities, a six-step inquiry process has been developed. The six steps describe a chronological process to assist states in selecting a focus area, collecting and using data to monitor this focus area, completing root cause analyses of the current performance, planning for and evaluating progress to resolve issues effectively, and implementing continuous and sustainable improvement. Since improving results and ensuring compliance is an ongoing process the six steps of inquiry should be used as an iterative cycle as infrastructure and practice improvements continue to be made. The six steps for improving results and compliance are outlined are outlined herein. This guide presents each step separately, providing a description of the step, activities to complete the step, the associated potential pitfalls, and relevant resources as available.