This report describes how five states -- Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas -- made exceptional progress in student achievement during the first decade of the 21st century. State leaders in these states all realized early in the decade that they had a problem they wanted to address. They established a "plan" at the state level, based on the best "research" they could find. They knew they had to find a "balance" between state vision and local implementation if they were to achieve the results they wanted. They ensured that teachers and school leaders were "committed" to and trained for the strategies that would work. And they insisted on a "feedback" loop so they would know if the plan was working. Their results and stories are presented herein.