This article contains an analysis of a component of a large-scale reform effort in an urban school district that entailed placing high school students identified as underperforming in literacy in separate classes aimed at accelerating their learning. The relationship between students academic performance and social backgrounds, school characteristics, and placement in these classes was analyzed for two cohorts of ninth graders. Although most students were placed according to their academic needs, there was evidence that race/ethnicity, language, and school socioeconomic status also influenced student placements. The findings suggest that the structural innovations of large-scale reforms must be accompanied by attention to the cultural dimensions of education reform. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.)