Equity-Oriented Reform Amid Standards-Based Accountability

Intermediary organizations increasingly provide support for schools serving marginalized students. Some attribute this trend to growing ideological support for market-based strategies to further the public good. This article investigates one intermediary that marketed equity-oriented instructional goals for schools serving high numbers of students of color and English Learners. Drawing on critical policy studies and political science, we analyze its behavior amid a high-stakes accountability environment, its reasons for adopting certain reforms, and the consequences for instruction. We use qualitative comparative analysis to show how policy forces shaped reforms and content in its schools, but not pedagogy specific to students of color or English Learners. We discuss the implications for the research on intermediaries and the democratic control of public education.