Drawing on theoretical and empirical research concerning the relationship between academic work and student learning, this article explores the following questions: What skills are required to execute the academic tasks teachers assign on a daily basis? How do teachers and administrators interpret the task demands represented in instructional materials? How does task demand relate to a school's improvement process? Our findings suggest that task demand focused largely on low-level skill development. However, having established baseline systems and practices, schools are working to institutionalize more sophisticated practices that foster 21st-century knowledge and skill acquisition.