Argues that vouchers do not improve student achievement, hurt public schools, exclude many students, go to students who do not need them, and decrease accountability. Reform efforts should be directed to turning around failing public schools. (Contains 29 references.) (PKP)

Based on data from five educational voucher programs in the United States, argues that voucher schools do not "cream" the best students, do serve special-needs students, can improve academic achievement, do not increase racial segregation, and do not harm public schools. Explains why African Americans support educational vouchers. (Contains 18…

A state-subsidized system allowing low-income families to choose private schooling could fulfill the nation's democratic aspirations. All parents would be empowered to make the kinds of choices enjoyed by wealthier families. The quality and efficiency of education could then approach the levels achieved by other nations. Includes four references.…

By granting teachers greater empowerment and higher compensation in return for closer involvement with students, Rochester City School District is seeking to make public schools successful for all students. (Author/TE)

The author of "The Discipline of Hope" (1998) values environments that foster a sense of belonging and love of learning. Besides engaging students' imagination, teachers must convince students that they are people of worth who can accomplish something in a difficult world. Children must remain hopeful, and adults must not abandon public…

Nonpublic school educational choice proposals are largely derived from monetarist economic and social theory and exemplify right-wing privatization goals. The U.S. health care system has plenty of competition among insurers, hospitals, and doctors; but it is the most expensive, least equitable system in the industrial world. The mystical belief…

Voucher plans are undemocratic and will perpetuate class distinctions and the fragmentation of society. The choice agenda will particularize loyalties rather than encourage a sense of common loyalties among people. The individual parent will be forced to claw and scramble for the benefit of his/her kid only. We should not dismantle democratic…

In a Fort Collins, Colorado, school district, parents whose children attend alternative schools choose schools for all the right reasons. Unfortunately, only a limited segment of parents exercises a choice. Teachers say alternative schools skim off the most motivated parents and students, leaving the problem children behind. These survey results…

The concept of public education is on national trial and is being exploited by interests intending to train our children to be good customers, rather than good citizens. Market terminology cannot express ideals of a free, universal education. The real choice is whether all children will receive an excellent education irrespective of their place of…

In Boston, City on a Hill Charter School's commitment to civic education challenges the notion that charter schools are inherently privatizing forces in public education reform. Through expanded choice, inclusive decision making, and localized accountability, charter schools can be a democratizing force that serves multiple publics, including…

In response to stagnating economic conditions, the Swedish government introduced numerous "reforms," including a voucher scheme for approved independent schools. Since 1992, enrollments in independent schools have increased only 1%, segregation and interschool disparities have increased, and supports for special-needs children have…

Herrnstein and Murray's "The Bell Curve" claims that IQ is hereditary and that African Americans consistently score 15 points lower than other racial groups. Coolly received by academics, the book is being warmly embraced by Republican politicians endorsing fiscal austerity and social mean-spiritedness. The book rationalizes a…

Massachusetts's school-choice program has seen a significant flight of students and dollars from inadequately funded urban districts to wealthier suburban districts. Despite the Haverhill district's cutting-edge curriculum, many students have transferred because of school location and the district's racial composition. School choice is not a…

For-profit charter-school managers may be removing the "public" from public education. A study of 11 Michigan charter schools showed that cost-cutting strategies are adversely affecting student transportation, special education, and the socioeconomic mix of students. Corporations' superimposed bureaucracies have eradicated educators'…

To make standards inclusive for today's diverse student populations, educators must support and cultivate five conditions. Standards should be developmental and flexible, employ varied assessment tools, allow equitable access to meaningful content, involve the entire community in their implementation, and serve as a catalyst for other reforms.…