This research aimed to identify the school district characteristics that seem to explain the way districts adapt to pressures for change. The author hypothesized that all school districts can be characterized by one of three states: maintenance (they change practices and technologies but are stable in beliefs and structures that truly affect student learning), decay (their reactions to change jeopardize the long-term effectiveness of educational delivery), and development (they consistently implement and sustain changes that may affect performance). The goal of the research was to formulate preliminary conceptualizations rather than to test hypotheses or conduct an intensive field study. Five reputedly innovative districts were chosen for the study. A research team visited the districts in order to conduct interviews, attend meetings, observe classes, and collect copies of school district records. The data were used to formulate and compare the characteristics of a developmental school district and a maintenance one. Researchers theorized that the ideal developed school district is characterized by delivery diversity, integrated loose coupling, primacy of delivery concerns, boundary openness, and institutionalized change. (Author/JM)