In different countries, the individual schools have got a greater degree of autonomy in pursuing attainment of complex educational goals. It is no longer the individual teacher, but rather the school as a whole that is responsible for school quality. However, empirical studies show that organizational and structural changes in schools are of limited effectiveness for teaching and learning. For this reason, theoretical concepts start instead from the assumption that a high problem-solving competency on the part of the individual school are prerequisites for optimally promoting student learning. But there are few empirical findings available for verification of this connection. There is thus a need for information on the extent to which schools with high problem-solving competency differ systematically from schools with low problem-solving competency. Of particular interest is the relation between high problem-solving competency and important quality dimensions at the level of the classroom that, in turn, have a positive effect on students' development of competency. This was 2004 investigated in a study of nine high schools (n=877) in Zurich, Switzerland, by comparing perceptions of teachers and students in schools with high problem-solving competency with the perceptions of teachers and students in schools with low problem-solving competency.