Despite the Best Intentions: Inconsistencies Among Components in Kentucky's Systemic Reform

Comprehensive education reforms are crafted by legislators and policy makers to address multiple aspects of the public education system. Although individual components of such initiatives may appear promising, little thought typically is given to inconsistencies that may result from implementing multiple reform components simultaneously. This article describes some of the unintended consequences that have come about as a result of inconsistencies between and within components in Kentucky's systemic education reform. It is argued that policy makers must give serious attention to these inconsistencies and their consequences for modern reform efforts to succeed in bringing about the improvements for which they are intended.