Author

A. Graham Down

A. Graham Down, a graduate of Oxford and Cambridge Universities, was formerly Acting Director of the College Board’s Advanced Placement Program and was Executive Director and President of the Council for Basic Education, (1974-1994). He is also an accomplished keyboard artist, specializing in the organ, piano and harpsichord.

Published Articles & Media

  • The Problems and Promise of Common Core
    In a video roundtable, HGSE experts explore the challenges of implementing America’s new standards.
  • Poor Students Can’t Afford Teacher Strike
    The public should not tolerate damage to the education of disadvantaged students resulting from a strike over disagreements about teachers’ salaries, benefits, job security, and method of evaluation.
  • Parental Guidance Suggested
    The Good Student is an excellent compilation of what we currently know about best practices, one that is jargon-free and aimed specifically at parents.
  • Do Students Need Depth More Than Breadth?
    Kieran Egan takes us through every conceivable objection to his proposal and refutes each objection in turn. But I am less convinced than he that concentration on a single topic is equally suitable for 1st as for 12th graders (and all grades in between).
  • The Past, Present, and Future of Common Standards
    A new book explains in depth the content of the standards, what they expect of students, and how the assessment of student results is going to be carried out.
  • On Changing One’s Mind about School Reform
    “I Used to Think…And Now I Think” is an interesting compendium of twenty education notables’ views on school reform, responding to a prompt devised by Richard Elmore of the Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • Teaching in All Its Complexity
    Teaching and its Predicaments is a very thoughtful book, written by one of the most serious and accomplished authors of our time.
  • An Inside Look at the Challenges Facing Charter Schools
    The brand new book The Strategic Management of Charter Schools is an insightful analysis of what is really involved in developing and sustaining charter schools.
  • The State of the Teaching Profession
    The American Public School Teacher is a comprehensive report on the state of the teaching profession in the United States based on a 5-year study by the National Education Association.

Learn More About Our Authors

Member Since 2009

Member Since 2009

Member Since 2009

Member Since 2011

Member Since 2014

Member Since 2016

NEWSLETTER

Notify Me When Education Next

Posts a Big Story

Business + Editorial Office

Program on Education Policy and Governance
Harvard Kennedy School
79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone (617) 496-5488
Fax (617) 496-4428
Email Education_Next@hks.harvard.edu

For subscription service to the printed journal
Phone (617) 496-5488
Email subscriptions@educationnext.org

Copyright © 2024 President & Fellows of Harvard College