Amid the torrent of reform activity in urban school systems, some proposals
fare better than others. The traditional technocratic presumption is that
reforms are chosen for their educational merit. I suggest that, to the cont
rary, institutional incentives encourage urban policymakers to emphasize sy
mbolic appeal. Data from a 1995 study of 57 urban districts are used to com
pare the fate of two school reforms. The more symbolically attractive refor
m was supported, proposed, and enacted much more widely, although neither r
esearch nor observer responses suggested its superiority.