DOCUMENT RESUME ED 397 530 EA 027 926 AUTHOR Wohlstetter, Priscilla; Mohrman, Susan Albers TITLE Assessment of School-Based Management. [Volume I: Findings and Conclusions.] Studies of Education Reform. 1 INSTITUTION University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Center on Educational Governance. SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. REPORT NO ISBN-0-16-048863-X; ORAD-96-1325 PUB DATE Oct 96 CONTRACT RR91172002 NOTE 144p.; For Volume III of this particular study, see EA 026 927. (There is no Volume II.) For all 12 final reports (36 volumes) in this series of studies, see EA 027 926-961. AVAILABLE FROM U.S. Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-9328. PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MFOI/PC06 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Educational Assessment; *Educational Change; Elementary Secondary Education; *Governance; *Organizational Change; Organizational Development; Participative Decision Making; Performance; *School Based Management IDENTIFIERS *Studies of Education Reform (OERI) ABSTRACT This document presents findings of the Assessment of School-Based Management Study, which identified the conditions in schools that promote high performance through school-based management (SBM). The study's conceptual framework was based on Edward E. Lewler's (1986) model. The high-involvement framework posits that fout resources must spread throughout the organization: power to make or influence decisions; information upon which good decisions can be made; knowledge and skills to perform effectively including good decision-making and problem solving skills; and rewards for performance. This volume contains four sections: Section 1 includes an executive summary for the study; section 2 presents a summary review of the SBM literature; section 3 presents an overview of study aims and study questions; and section 4 contains a series of articles that draw on cross site analyses from the two phases of the study. The study found that SRM requires a redesign of the whole school organization rather than a change in school governance. SBM fails when it is adopted as an end in itself; principals work from their own agenda; decision-making power is centered in a single council; and business continues as usual. Strategies for successful implementation cf SBM include: (1) establish multiple teacher-led decision-making teams; (2) focus on continuous improvement with school-wide training in functional and process skills, including training in curricular and instructional areas; (3) create a well-developed system for sharing school-related information among a broad range of constituents; (4) develop ways to more effectively reward staff behaviors oriented toward achieving school objectives; (5) select principals who can facilitate and manage change; and (6) use district, state, and/or national guidelines to focus reform efforts and to target changes in curriculum and instruction. Data were obtained from a review of the literature and from over 500 interviews conducted in 44 schools in 13 school districts. Three tables are included. An annotated bibliography is included. (Contains 20 references.) (LNI)