The evaluation of school-based substance abuse prevention programs has shown that, although some types of school-based programs may influence adolescent alcohol and drug use, the effects of most evaluated programs are generally minor. In addition, the few programs for which long-term evaluation findings are available indicate that positive effects are not maintained if the program lacks a follow-up component. Further, the prevention approaches that have been shown to be effective are not widely used, while other approaches for which no effectiveness has been demonstrated or for which no substantial evaluation exists are the most commonly used models. As one of many school-based programs evaluated to be ineffective, D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), the most widely used program in the United States, received significant public scrutiny. Disputes between social scientists and program administrators regarding the validity of negative research findings in the early 1990's produced controversial media coverage and political finger-pointing. D.A.R.E. program administrators faced accusations of attempts to conceal evaluation findings and were publicly charged by political figures, researchers, and the media with wasting tax dollars. It was not until 2001 that the opposing sides began to communicate productively. Currently, the D.A.R.E. America program, in collaboration with social scientists, is piloting the "New D.A.R.E. Program," which has been designed to reflect current research findings on the effectiveness of programs and program components for targeted age groups. This article reviews what a number of school-based programs (in addition to D.A.R.E.) have and have not accomplished. Based on this review, the author concludes that it is unlikely that one magic bullet will be developed for school-based substance abuse prevention. Findings to date suggest that different strategies may be more effective for different groups of children and youth. 31 references