COMPASS-AIM is a set of processes and tools used by participants in a research-practice partnership (RPP) to improve organizational capacities and individual and team competencies for organizational learning and improvement. The "COMPASS" team includes teams of teachers and school leaders who work with a university researcher and expert professional developers. Improvement teams begin by "COMP"aring practices in their own setting to those in higher performing schools identified through research. The next few phases involve "A"ssessing priorities based on those comparisons, Selecting levers (i.e., drivers) to improve a priority area, and "S"etting a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) goal or goals designed to address the priority area. Once a "COMPASS" team establishes a goal or goals, the process has it take AIM at "A"ction planning, "I"mplementation, and "M"onitoring progress through periodic "check the pulse" meetings. Throughout these phases, participants use self-assessment tools, case studies, and a variety of other research reports to inform their work. This research utilization-focused approach bridges research and practice, while accommodating for variability in desired outcomes, affordances, and constraints for change in different school and district contexts.