In 2010, HCM Strategists received support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to engage academic researchers in identifying and discussing the best currently available ways to account for differences in college "inputs"--students, resources, and fixed characteristics--when evaluating postsecondary outcomes. The project, Context for Success, was designed to generate ideas with practical benefits in the higher education policy world but that would also withstand academic scrutiny. Over a year the project, Context for Success, brought together 14 researchers working on seven different projects, along with a similar number of state and federal officials, nonprofit leaders, and higher education advocates. They assessed the current state of theory and practice for input adjustments and discussed whether and how such adjustments could be made compatible with transparent public policy. The seven papers that resulted, plus a literature review and a summary overview, are posted on the project's website at http://hcmstrategists.com/contextforsuccess. While nothing like a standard methodology came out of the discussions, the resulting papers have dozens of specific recommendations and should be required reading for leaders and analysts who want to make their funding or accountability systems more meaningful. As a member of the Context for Success project team, the author summarizes in this article the main lessons learned from the written research reports and the discussions with outside respondents.