ABSTRACT
As standards and particularly testing become increasingly dominant policy tools for reforming education, all levels of the system need to respond to demands for higher scores. Whereas teachers are affected directly by state standards and assessment policies, much of the impact of these policies is mediated by the outlook of, and decisions made by, district administrators about how to attempt to alter teacher practice in ways consistent with reform goals (Spillane, 1996). Literature on the implementation of reforms has repeatedly shown that local agents’ interpretations and responses to policy changes have a profound effect on policy impact (Berman & McLaughlin, 1977; Fairman & Firestone, 2001; Spillane & Thompson, 1997).
