Many strategy options are open to state education agencies interested in developing statewide programs to support and guide local school improvement efforts. Agencies can focus on instructional improvement, more general school improvement, improvement of the curricular program, or changes in educational structures. Factors influencing which of these foci to select include the political, fiscal, developmental, and aspirational contexts in which the state agency is operating. Once a strategy is selected, the agency must still determine what aspects of the strategy to stress, how to limit the range of efforts for greatest impact, how to maximize cooperation, how to ensure public support, how to develop adequate background data for assessing needs and measuring change, and what kinds of results to seek and to expect. (PGD)