The fractious debate over how much schools can counteract poverty's impact on children is far from settled, but a recently published collection of research strongly suggests that until policymakers and educators confront deepening economic and social disparities, poor children will increasingly miss out on finding a path to upward social mobility.…

In the 21 months since U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stood on an iconic bridge in Selma, Alabama, and pledged to aggressively combat discrimination in the nation's schools, federal education officials have launched dozens of new probes in school districts and states that reach into civil rights issues that previously received little, if…

California is poised to become the first state to unmask the extent to which English-language learners (ELLs) languish in public schools for years without ever reaching fluency. Under a measure that received broad, bipartisan support from the legislature, the state education department would be required to break out and report data annually on…

President Barack Obama's call for every state to require school attendance until age 18 may spark a flurry of action in some statehouses, but changing attendance laws will do little by itself to drive down the nation's dropout rates, experts on the issue say. In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama said states should require…

Dozens of schools are slated for aggressive interventions over the next three years under a new, multistate effort that aims to clear hurdles that have hindered previous attempts to improve underperforming schools. Education officials in Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and New York have agreed to partner with Mass Insight…

After 39 applicants went home losers from the first round of the Race to the Top competition, many states regrouped and raised the stakes for round two--changing laws to revamp teacher evaluations, drumming up more support from districts and teachers' unions, and getting more aggressive about turning around low-performing schools. The authors…

Billions in federal economic-stimulus dollars are slated to be spent to help improve public education, but Americans relying on traditional news outlets are likely to find out little, if anything, about what that effort might mean for the schools in their communities, a new report suggests. That's because education coverage of any type barely…

In hiring Daniel A. Domenech, the directors of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) were looking for an advocate who could position the group in the front row of education policy debates in Washington. Domenech, who began his job as the executive director of the AASA in July, has battle scars from years spent in the…

The momentum in Florida to expand one of that state's voucher programs is a subtle but significant sign that such programs, which have been anathema to many Democrats, are beginning to win bipartisan support in a number of states. State lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in Florida are already voicing support for new legislation that would…

Michelle A. Rhee, the chancellor of the public schools in Washington D.C. since June 2007, has become a favorite of the school reform set due to her bold efforts to remake the public schools in the nation's capital. For Rhee, exposing mismanagement, incompetence, and wide disparities in teaching quality has been a deliberate tactic as she builds…

This article discusses a new state law which has stirred up a fierce dispute over privacy rights, as innocent school employees in Michigan have begun learning that they have been misidentified as criminals. The Student Safety Initiative, a series of laws that took effect January 1, required Michigan school districts to obtain criminal-background…

After months of deliberations and promises of dramatic change for Los Angeles' embattled schools, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa the week of April 17, 2006 called for California lawmakers to put his office in charge of running the day-to-day operations of the nation's second largest school district. In his first State of the City address, Mr.…

Maryland became the first state to use its authority under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) to seize control of failing schools, as the state board of education this week ordered new management at 11 middle and high schools in Baltimore. Nancy S. Grasmick, Maryland's superintendent of schools, led the push to take over four high schools and to…

Mr. Barr, a Democratic political organizer who turned charter school mogul, has waged a contentious, two-year campaign to persuade leaders in the nation's second-largest school system to let him run one or more troubled high schools. Mr. Barr, with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, set to assume some control of the district on Jan. 1, 2007, where he may…