A consensus is emerging about how school leaders affect school performance, and how important principals are to improved student learning. Yet the national reform policies--No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top (RTT)--incorporate assumptions about school and district leadership that are very much at odds with this research. NCLB and RTT call…

Greenfield is a term for an area where there are unobstructed, wide-open opportunities to invent or build. Greenfield schooling presumes that the greatest challenge to improving teaching and learning is the bureaucratic, rule-driven education system and that it is important to create an environment in which innovation can flourish.

The authors report the findings of the 41st Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes toward the Public Schools. The annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes toward the Public Schools is unique because it's not an advocacy poll, but rather a thoughtful study of Americans' current perceptions of their public schools. Each…

This is the latest in a series of polls sponsored by Phi Delta Kappa International with the Gallup Organization. The results of this year's poll are presented along with past results, when applicable, to give both a snapshot of Americans' opinions about their schools and an indication of how those opinions are changing over time. [Commentaries by…

U.S. education is at a transformational moment. The choices we make will determine whether our schools become collaborative and democratic or prescriptive and authoritarian. The policies proposed by the federal government for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act will create some good schools for some students while…

When the National Commission on Excellence in Education submitted "A Nation at Risk" to Secretary of Education Terrel Bell on 26 April 1983, there was little to suggest that this report would shine a spotlight on education that would last a quarter of a century. Indeed, not long after the release of this document, critics were already…

The debate over the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) generally overlooks--or looks past--what may be the most fundamental flaw in that legislation. As the law is now written, decisions regarding what the young should know and be able to do are removed from the hands of parents and local community leaders and turned over to officials…

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act will be coming up for reauthorization amid a number of contentious issues, and debates over these issues are likely to more heated leading up to the 2012 elections. If ESEA is to be renewed, the President must make it a high priority, Republicans will need to work with Democrats, and national education…

Magicians present illusions. Commissioned reports and the writers who produce them sometimes do the same. Controversy continues to surround the findings of the Warren Commission report on the Kennedy assassination long after it was completed. And the same has been true of "A Nation at Risk", ever since its publication in 1983. The two…

Any reauthorized version of the No Child Left Behind Act is almost certain to call for monitoring students' academic progress. However, the current method for such monitoring is educationally harmful. The author offers five recommendations for building a more defensible means to monitor student progress.

Uncle Sam has expanded his reach into the nation's schools during the last five decades. Those forays frequently have been motivated by concerns over equity and a growing interest in promoting academic excellence. An overall working assumption has been that federal prodding and assistance could help encourage states and localities to better meet…

With the current pressures on teachers to increase academic achievement for all students, high-quality teacher training is more important than ever. Elementary teachers are faced with high expectations for their students to achieve literacy proficiency, and these expectations became law with the No Child Left Behind Act. With or without this…

In this article, the authors talk about National Education Association (NEA) leadership's decision to side with corporate reformers rather than with teachers. While the authors agree with the NEA leadership in its argument that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act "is not working" and is "an unfounded, unfair, and unattainable…

In early 1999, when it was formally launched, the Massachusetts Signing Bonus Program (MSBP) for New Teachers attracted nationwide attention. The Bonus Program's efforts were greeted with acclaim and its favorable attention continued into the second year. When problems began to appear in 2001, however, only local eyes were watching. No national…

As recently as a generation ago, playtime meant outdoor activity that put children in touch with nature. Now, it's chat rooms, video games, and virtual nature. The result is "videophilia" as opposed to "biophilia." This nature-deficit disorder has spurred a national movement that has made its way to Capitol Hill in the form of a proposed No Child…