In 1998, passage of Proposition 227 virtually eliminated bilingual education programs and called for instruction overwhelmingly in English. However, diverse student populations require diverse instructional approaches. Standards-based reform aids only students who can fully understand and assimilate high academic content. Constructivists value…

The author's experiences as an urban school parent have convinced her that democratic commitments to school equity are central to creating appropriate and fair school choice. Three issues deserve educators' attention: the mixed results of voluntary desegregation programs, political and social agendas affecting public schooling, and the continuing…

In a four-year, longitudinal study conducted between 2000 and 2004, the author followed 700 students as they progressed through three high schools: a diverse, urban school as well as two suburban schools. Although incoming freshmen at the urban school scored significantly lower in mathematics than incoming students at the two suburban schools, by…

Economic inequality is tearing our civil society apart. Addressing this problem through school governance reforms (vouchers, privatization, and charter schools), or curriculum changes (teaching new basic skills), or a new instructional focus (Rifkin's civil sector) ignores the real challenge: redistributing wealth and softening inequalities.…

Subtlety and complacency mask ongoing gender bias in today's classrooms. Updates are presented concerning career segregation; single-sex classrooms; safety and health problems; dropout rates; gifted programs; male/female stereotypes; classroom interactions; SAT scores; math, science and technology gender gaps; political reversals; and female…