Whose Standards for Judging Reform Success Are in Play? Part 3
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Although policymakers, researchers, practitioners have vied for attention in judging the success of school reforms, policy elites, including civic and business leaders and their accompanying foundation- and corporate-supported analysts and evaluators, dominate the game of judging reform success.
Sometimes called a “growth coalition,” they see districts and schools as goal-driven organizations with leaders exerting top-down authority through structures. They juggle highly prized values of equity, efficiency, excellence, and getting reelected. They are also especially sensitive to public expectations for school accountability and test scores. Hence, these policy making elites favor standards of effectiveness, fidelity, and popularity—even when they conflict with one another. Because the world they inhabit is one of running organizations, their authority and access to the media give them the leverage to spread their views about what constitutes success.
