Eminent historian and educator Larry Cuban provides a thorough examination of, and challenge to, past and present definitions of what constitutes educational success in the US. Cuban argues that in the history of American education, standards of achievement and inadequacy--as well as the reform efforts issuing from them--have been neither stable…

Education reform based on technical and rational processes often short-circuits reform because it is uncontentious, abstract, and provides educators with no legitimate ways to question the marketplace values and policies that drive much contemporary school reform. The perspective referred to as "betterment" is an alternative reform that…

The ninth recommendation in ACTE's high school reform position statement is to move beyond "seat-time" and narrowly defined knowledge and skills. United States high schools operate on a well-established set of expectations for size, time of day and seasons of the year that programs and classes are offered, how instructional material is…

Perceptions of social change in American society and education were examined via an attitude survey (22 demographic questions and 73 opinion statements) administered to the entire population of 5 Northern California rural high schools (n=1,288); all English classes in 2 Sacramento schools (n=1,384); and rural adults (n=258). Structured interviews…

This paper explores the reasons for the rapid adoption of intelligence tests by the public schools, and the historical relationship between testing and ability grouping or tracking. Case studies are presented of three California communities--Oakland, San Jose, and Palo Alto--between 1910 and 1925. These communities have been selected because they…