The last government's emphasis on results statistics--implicit in its systems for holding teachers to account--as the be-all-and-end-all of a good education, reflected the largely undebated victory of one set of possible aims for schooling over another. Pragmatism beat idealism, as schools' priorities were reshaped along similarly calculating lines to those of New Labour. Education policy seemed to become about raising schools' results to appease sceptical parents who might otherwise depart to the private sector, just as the party fought the Conservatives by trying to appeal to middle-class voters in marginal seats. But the policy has had major flaws, which may undermine state education in the long run.