Powerful Learning delivers an evidence-based, results-driven approach to large-scale educational reform in schools. The book explicates a 'grand theory' of system change that leads to measurable outcomes in enhanced student learning and accelerated achievement over time. Powerful Learning is built upon a research initiative conducted in the Northern Metropolitan Region (NMR) in Melbourne, Australia - an area characterized by relative social and economic disadvantage, where radical reform has seen outstanding results. Bolstered by reference to the broader international experience, the book describes in detail the 'inside out' perspective on school improvement, beginning with the central tenet that every student will reach their potential. Standards of literacy and numeracy are recognized as essential, but equally so is the instilling of a desire to learn. The teaching strategies that will effectively bring this about are identified, as is the organizational structure required to support such change. The range of policy initiatives confronting the schools are surveyed and adapted to fit with specific improvement plans. The reform outlined in the intensive 'NMR' program is shown to result in a reduced range in student performance, and an overall rise in standards within and between schools, significantly raising the bar and narrowing the education divide.