Responds to feminist groups' assertions that the educational system shortchanges females, suggesting that these assertions have detracted attention from the real problem of low academic achievement among African-American males and boys in general. Research on adolescent self-esteem and sex differences in mathematics achievement is reviewed. (SLD)

Charter schools, performance contracts, and school choice programs are among the initiatives for change that can be made into an integrated program for reforming urban education, one that shifts from a bureaucratic and archaic system into a deregulated system that focuses on student performance. (SLD)