This article examines the fundamental disconnect between discourses of accountability in education policy and their interpretation on the ground by parents. Based on data from two sites in Baltimore—district‐led teacher training and a community facing school restructuring—I argue that both parents and education professionals consider accountability to be a measure of faithfulness to reality, but they position reality in different discursive frames. Ultimately, I show that this meta‐semantic mismatch has a tangible impact on the implementation of school reform. [United States, education reform, accountability, meta‐discourse, policy]