Student achievement in American schools must improve dramatically if all young people today are to have equal access to the labor markets and be contributing members of society as adults. Currently, only 20 to 25 percent perform proficiently. Standards-based education reform aims to raise that level to at least 75 percent of students mastering the complex subjects of mathematics, reading, writing, science, and history. Accomplishing this goal means schools must rethink current practices, including their management and organizational systems. The report discusses what is known about the elements of an effective decentralized system, and what research and experience suggest about how to implement such a system. It analyzes the research and imparts a perspective about decentralizing decision making and giving individual schools authority and accountability for higher student achievement. (Contains 51 references.) (DFR)