Systemic reform has been advanced as a policy strategy in the past decade to improve urban schools. This study compares published reports of implementation of systemic reform in New York City and Community School District 2 to perceptions of mothers and teachers in a community-based school with a long history of parent involvement. Their lived experience contradicts conclusions of high-profile research, raising political, moral, and methodological questions about the role of research and researchers in systemic reform. The most critical issue is researchers’accountability when they assist in implementation of reforms neither fully understood nor endorsed by teachers or parents, especially in schools serving students, families, and communities that have low status and little power. The article concludes with recommendations to reestabilish systemic reform’s democratic ideals, operationalizing learning by all by including parents, school people, and citizens in assessment.
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