As part of our assistance to the Institute for Educational Leadership and the National High School Alliance, we supported the Gates' Foundation-funded National Network of Constituent Organizations. Work with this network of national education associations, including the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Governors' Association, the State Higher Education Executive Officers and the National Association of State Boards of Education, focused on building alliances across independent organizations and analysis of key issues that pose challenges in the high school improvement arena. Our analysis about increasing rigor in high school, which proposed a simple conceptual framework for talking about rigor, was distributed widely and followed by a companion paper regarding providing academic interventions to struggling students. We also provided ongoing management support to the National High School Alliance and conducted a strategic positioning study for its parent organization, the Institute for Education Leadership.