Findings from a study that examined the school-level factors related to the success of early efforts to restructure schools through school-based management are presented in this paper. Specifically, the study examined the antecedent factors expected to affect the probability of a school moving forward toward more extensive decentralization. An assumption of the study was that variables associated with greater student achievement also characterize schools with greater decentralization initiative. Methodology involved analysis of school district documents and reports of 130 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District--65 schools engaged in decentralization and 65 not involved. Findings indicate that schools exhibiting some degree of decentralization were smaller and had greater ethnic and linguistic student and faculty diversity. The finding that schools did not differ significantly on the dimensions of socioeconomic status or fiscal discretion suggests that variables exert influence at different stages of decentralization. Two tables are provided. (21 references) (LMI)