Efforts to infuse market forces into public education are based on the supposition that these forces can improve student outcomes. This assumption does not consider the politics of implementation. This article examines state-initiated school privatization and reveals factors that influence translation of theory to practice. The cases depict what instigated privatization and procedures utilized to select providers, negotiate contracts, and manage relationships with management organizations. The cases demonstrate that compromises negotiated in the interest of expedient implementation can undermine the potential of the market and increase bureaucracy, thereby raising questions about the validity of the assumption that market forces can improve public schools. (Contains 1 endnote.)