Summer school makes an unlikely candidate for a bright spot in education reform during these difficult economic times. It occupies a long-held negative place in U.S. culture, prompting dread in the hearts of many former and current students. Summer school conjures up images of sitting in hot classrooms and receiving remedial instruction while…

Research shows that schools remain a powerful tool for shoring up individual opportunity and for attaining a thriving, multiracial democratic society. The authors point to social science evidence that demonstrates how segregated schooling limits the prospects of both minority and majority students and how integrated education can close the…

The goal of environmental education is to create a citizenry that is knowledgeable about the biophysical environment, aware of ways to help solve environmental problems, and motivated to work toward their solution. Today environmental issues are more complex and urgent than ever, but the schools have not met the challenge of preparing young people…

Principals talk about children in their schools, noting that their essence cannot be condensed into efficiently scored, disaggregated data. Data tools are useful. But even a dramatic increase in test scores headlined in the newspaper must not become the end product of principals' educational endeavors. What's going on in the hearts and minds of…

At a time when the United States faces unprecedented challenges at home and abroad, public schools must do far more to prepare young people to be engaged, ethical advocates of "liberty and justice for all." This article explores what makes some people behave ethically--even at the risk of their own lives--and asserts that developing…

From 1998 to 2008, voters in California, Arizona, and Massachusetts passed anti-bilingual education ballot initiatives that required English-only instruction for the vast majority of the states' English language learners. The contentious political discourse leading up to the votes largely ignored the research on best practices for educating…

Discusses the problems facing school district curriculum leaders as a result of increasingly frequent legislative mandates affecting the schools and their curriculum. (JG)

Since the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the time spent talking about, preparing for, and taking tests has increased exponentially in schools. The authors contend that all this testing has done little to increase achievement or close achievement gaps, but has had unintended negative consequences. "The tests," they write,…

The US people are becoming less concerned with what's good for children and more concerned about compliance with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy. The NCLB is constricting the curricular thinking of education leaders rather than spurring instructional improvements.

Evidence from Arizona and other states demonstrates that children with disabilities lack equal access to charter schools. Charter school operators are avoiding potentially high-cost students and are unprepared to meet their needs. Charter schools need to strike cooperative resource-sharing arrangements with neighboring districts. States must…

To date, decisions about implementation of PL 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Act, have not involved classroom teachers. Every decision made without input from classroom teachers systematically decreases the potential of PL 94-142 for positive impact. (Author/JG)

Now 13 years old and maturing, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was recently re-endorsed as the centerpiece of the federal government's commitment to equity and quality in elementary and secondary education. (Author/MLF)

Two curriculum specialists recount the growth of special education programs in Illinois. They note that strong professional advocacy and political know-how help to promote such programs, but warn that problems of implementation can arise. (Author)

There is a trend toward more interstate uniformity of statutes with respect to curriculum; however, there are only three topics that more than half of the states have in common in legislated curriculum: alcohol and narcotics, the U.S. Constitution, and physical education. (JD)