This paper delineates the purposes of a symposium that was based on a major study of the California School Improvement Program (SIP). The problem of increasing the capacity of schools to implement reform efforts is conceptualized. To explore this issue, a conceptual framework was developed, based on the case study and survey data from the first and second year of the study. Selected findings from the study are used to illustrate why this conceptual framework is empirically necessary to account for the patterns of reform found in SIP schools. Findings are also presented that pertain to the forms SIP took at a local school site. These include process orientation, categorical program orientation, and funding source orientation. The relationship of each of these SIP orientations to overall changes made at the schools is displayed in a series of tables. In general, process-oriented schools were likely to improve, while program-oriented schools were likely to maintain their previous levels of outcomes. The overall implication from the study is that effective change processes will require a careful mapping of the local change situation, including background factors, foreground factors, and implementation processes as related to various types of schooling outcomes. (TE)