At the turn of the century, the United States was trying to come to grips with a serious education crisis. The country was lagging behind its international peers, and a half-century effort to erode racial disparities in school achievement had made little headway. Many people expected action from the federal government. George W. Bush and Barack…

Americans clearly have had their fill of a sluggish economy and an unpopular war. Their frustration now may also extend to public education. This article presents the results of the second annual national survey of U.S. adults conducted under the auspices of "Education Next" and the Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG) at…

Americans both care about their schools and want them to improve. Though adults give the nation's public schools only mediocre grades, they are willing to invest more money in public education and they are reasonably confident that doing so will improve student learning. They are also open to a host of school reforms ranging from high-stakes…