Schools in England are radically changing their organization and governance, casting aside the founding principle of the 1944 Education Act that education is a public service and abandoning the ideal of education as nurturing a sense of community. This book presents a portrait of a successful comprehensive school, between the years 1980 and 2000.…

The federal government is devoting millions of dollars to charter and voucher programs that currently require parents to abandon regular public schools. The goal of the authors of The School Choice Hoax is to expose the misleading hyperbole that has been driving the school choice movement and to show how charter schools can become more effective…

The urban university has become the dominant institution of higher learning in America. Although the concept of university is in keeping with traditions in American higher education, there are major obstacles to the fulfillment of the urban university's purpose. The urban college and university have great potential in playing an increasingly…

Based on a 3-year case study of an open-access community college, this monograph examines the background, causes, and possible resolutions for the decline of literacy in open-access colleges. Chapter 1 presents a working definition of literacy, considers the nature of literacy in a community college setting, and raises issues concerning the impact…

This book contains articles by educational researchers who examine the issues surrounding educational choice in public school systems and the voucher system for private schools. They discuss when choice should be considered, methods of implementation, and the extent to which government should be involved. Descriptions and evaluations of choice…

This book analyzes the effects of the Open Admissions Program at the City University of New York (CUNY) during its first year. The project undertook three tasks: (a) to clarify the issues surrounding the concept of open admissions in higher education; (b) to describe the curricula and programs developed by the various colleges of CUNY in response…

A major reason for the public's concern about curriculum and instruction at all levels of education has evolved because of the serious decline in student academic achievement. After two decades of innovation in teaching styles there are increasing complaints about academic grade inflation, functional illiteracy, and student inability to read,…

This book describes the design, growth, and replication of New York City's Middle College High School (MCHS). Chapter 1 relates the history of moves to integrate high school and college, the rationale for this reform, and reasons why prior to the 1970s, the movement was confined to very few two-year and independent colleges. Chapter 2 shows how…

The history of the first public co-educational liberal arts college in New York City, from 1930 to the present is examined as a reflection of American higher education during this period. Part 1, "The Early Years," discusses how free education came to Brooklyn, life in the Borough Hall district, the academic scene, student movements, and…

As part of a study of access and admission to higher education in Germany and the United States, a German specialist was invited to critique the American system of access to higher education, especially admission testing and open admission. The author's objective is to present selected problems related to objective testing within the framework of…

This book presents concerns and raises questions about the choice programs being proposed and implemented around the United States. It argues that poorly conceived, hastily enacted choice programs may do more harm than good. The demand for educational choice may result in lost opportunities for students (some groups more than others), weakened…

Community colleges concentrate on the neglected first two years of college; raise educational levels of underprepared students; educates and trains students to be qualified, skilled workers; and re-educates those whose skills are outdated; and those who have college degrees but no work skills. Drawing from interviews with community college…

This book should be of special interest to community college planners and administrators. It tells them what options are viable in the planning process, and what results to expect from their choices. It provides the philosophical framework for integrating academic, fiscal, and facility planning into campus master planning, and it examines the…

Measures to improve parent and student choice of school have recently become an important issue for educational reform in a number of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. This book summarizes the school-choice experiences of selected OECD countries. The data, collected by the OECD/Centre for Educational Research…

This document contains the substance of three lectures delivered at Memphis State University in June 1970. It should be of interest to recent high school graduates, their parents, and other laymen interested in American higher education. The first lecture discusses the history of the community college movement and the changes in popular attitudes…