The Chicago School Reform, adopted in December 1988, requires the school system to raise its student achievement levels to national norms in 5 years; to reallocate the system's resources away from the administration and toward schools, particularly those with high enrollments of economically disadvantaged students; and to establish Local School Councils (LSCs) as the basis for school-based management. On the basis of an ongoing intensive study of 14 Chicago schools and other investigations, the following midway conclusions are stated: (1) LSCs have been established and, for the most part, function successfully; (2) school improvement plans have focused more on "add-ons" than on altering the regular instructional programs of schools; (3) principals have adopted new roles and are providing new leadership; (4) teachers have become increasingly involved and positive about reform; (5) resources have been increasingly focused on the schools, with the greatest increases in schools enrolling the highest proportions of disadvantaged students; (6) national school improvement efforts are working in Chicago to assist many schools; and (7) it is still too early to see any changes in student achievement. The appendix lists the schools involved in major school improvement networks and the common principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools. (50 references) (MLF)