Look in the Mirror
We have the schools we wanted, and now we can’t change them
Review of William A. Fischel’s Making the Grade
Equal Knowledge
Common curriculum would benefit the poor—and democracy
Review of E. D. Hirsch Jr.’s The Making of Americans
Total Student Load
Maybe worth a longer look, but hardly a revolution
Review of William Ouchi’s The Secret of TSL
Book Alert: The Death and Life of the Great American School System
Diane Ravitch’s important new book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System, will surely stir controversy, exactly as she intends. Simply stated, she believes it should recapture the strengths of the traditional public school system, incorporate a vigorous common curriculum and renounce many of the theories, practices, policies and programs that have constituted America’s major education-reform emphases in recent years.
Book Alert: Emerging Evidence on Vouchers and Faith-Based Providers in Education
In recent decades, public-private partnerships (PPPs) and private providers have emerged as major forces in education in the less-developed and developing worlds, often supplying the lion’s share of education services where scarce resources have crippled state-run schooling. A new book from the World Bank, edited by Felipe Barrera-Osorio, Harry Anthony Patrinos, and Quentin Wodon, puts this growing phenomenon under the microscope.
Dedicated, Decorated, and Disappointing
Rafe Esquith’s latest is a manual for parents, not policymakers
Review of Rafe Esquith’s Lighting Their Fires
Tale of Two Cities
Why do minorities do so well in Raleigh and so poorly in Syracuse?
Review of Gerald Grant’s Hope and Despair in the ?American City
Examining a Massacre
From Columbine, lessons are hard to distill
Columbine by Dave Cullen
As reviewed by Nathan Glazer
Work Hard. Be Nice.
The roots and reality of the Knowledge Is Power Program
The roots and reality of the Knowledge Is Power Program
Can Johnny Graduate from College?
New book mines data for strategies to boost college completion
Crossing the Finish Line by William G. Bowen, Matthew M. Chingos, and Michael S. McPherson
As reviewed by Russ Whitehurst
Fall 2009 Book Alert
Alternative Routes to Teaching; When Mayors Take Charge; From A Nation at Risk to No Child Left Behind; Inside Urban Charter Schools; The Role and Impact of Public-Private Partnerships in Education; The Latino Education Crisis
Alternative Routes to Teaching; When Mayors Take Charge; From A Nation at Risk to No Child Left Behind; Inside Urban Charter Schools; The Role and Impact of Public-Private Partnerships in Education; The Latino Education Crisis
Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell
The answer may be luck, genes, and more
The answer may be luck, genes, and more
Race and Education, 1954—2007, by Raymond Wolters & Steady Gains and Stalled Progress, edited by Katherine Magnuson and Jane Waldfogel
Untangling race and education
An unabridged version of this review is available here.
Untangling race and education
Young People Are All Right
The problem is adolescence
Book Review: The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future
Summer 2009 Book Alert
The Beautiful Tree; The Street Stops Here; Reforming Boston Schools, 1930-2006; The Leader in Me; Changing the Odds for Children at Risk
The Beautiful Tree; The Street Stops Here; Reforming Boston Schools, 1930-2006; The Leader in Me; Changing the Odds for Children at Risk
Book Alert
The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey into How the World's Poorest People Are Educating Themselves; The Street Stops Here: A Year at a Catholic High School in Harlem; Reforming Boston Schools, 1930–2006: Overcoming Corruption and Racial Segregation; Changing the Odds for Children at Risk: Seven Essential Principles of Educational Programs That Break the Cycle of Poverty
The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey into How the World’s Poorest People Are Educating Themselves; The Street Stops Here: A Year at a Catholic High School in Harlem; Reforming Boston Schools, 1930-2006: Overcoming Corruption and Racial Segregation; Changing the Odds for Children at Risk: Seven Essential Principles of Educational Programs That Break the Cycle of Poverty
The Education Factor
Schooling once drove the nation’s rise to the top, but things have changed, unfortunately
Schooling once drove the nation’s rise to the top, but things have changed, unfortunately
Book Alert
The Seduction of Common Sense:How the Right Has Framed the Debate on America's Schools; Real Leaders,Real Schools: Stories of Success Against Enormous Odds; Mobilizing the Community to Help Students Succeed; School Accountability,Autonomy, and Choice Around the World; The Future of Educational Entrepreneurship: Possibilities for School Reform
The Seduction of Common Sense:How the Right Has Framed the Debate on America's Schools; Real Leaders,Real Schools: Stories of Success Against Enormous Odds; Mobilizing the Community to Help Students Succeed; School Accountability,Autonomy, and Choice Around the World; The Future of Educational Entrepreneurship: Possibilities for School Reform
Finding the Right Remedy
When court-ordered magnet schools don't work, try charters
When court-ordered magnet schools don't work, try charters
The Education Factor
Schooling once drove the nation’s rise to the top, but things have changed, unfortunately
Schooling once drove the nation’s rise to the top, but things have changed, unfortunately
