<p>This commentary reflects on the effects of policy changes in the English school system over the last 30 years and their implications for mathematics education in particular. Its aim is to point to characteristics of systems that, as in England, are driven by policy based on economic principles involving market choices. To achieve this, we start by briefly summarising what we see as the significant elements of policy changes in England since the mid-1990s. We then reflect on our own previous research, alongside that of others, to identify what we consider to be three ‘watch-points’ – specific symptoms of a market-driven approach to education. These relate, respectively, to effects on teachers’ professional identities, pedagogy, and the configuration of mathematics itself as a school subject. These watch-points are not judgements of the English system per se but are offered as ways to alert readers to the potential effects of education policy modelled largely on economic principles.</p>