Schools that become part of the "Making Middle Grades Work" network are expected to use the middle grades comprehensive improvement framework to show progress in changing school and classroom practices in ways that advance student achievement. True school reform is not a quick process. It is a continuous effort to make purposeful and planned changes in school and classroom practices that result in a steady rise in student achievement. States and Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) expect all schools to show consistent progress until the comprehensive improvement framework is fully implemented with all students performing at the Basic level and with increasing percentages of students performing at the Proficient and Advanced levels in reading, mathematics and science. The middle grades comprehensive improvement framework is included in this document. [This report was updated in 2005-2006. SREB's school improvement initiatives are supported by state consortia, the U.S. Department of Education, the Mott Foundation and Middle Grades Consortium.]