Site-based management (SBM) is an increasingly popular approach to school restructuring. SBM aims to transfer authority from state agencies and school districts to committees based at schools. To garner a consensus supporting reform, these committees are to be representative of educational and community members. SBM plans are characterized by: (1) a governing body comprised of administrators, teachers, parents, and occasionally students; (2) a downward distribution of authority toward each system stakeholder; (3) a clearly articulated understanding of the scope of decision-making powers linked to desired outcomes; (4) the concept of shared accountability; (5) professional development; and (6) a plan for generating school district support and encouraging widespread participation. Research from the corporate sector suggests that participatory decision making promotes system responsiveness. Important questions remain concerning SBM's idiosyncratic and undesirable effects, its insensitivity to standard accountability measures, its ability to genuinely transform structures, and the necessary degree of specificity in designing guidelines for devolving authority. The consequences of decentralization on student performance remain unknown. An honest evaluation of policy effects is needed to reliably estimate the desirability of SBM. (TEJ)