After-school learning, summer learning, and family involvement in learning are major predictors of children's development, educational achievement, and school success. The United States will not achieve its national goals of equal educational opportunity without addressing the importance of and inequities in out-of-school learning opportunities.…

In this article, the author questions why the resegregation of U.S. schools into two systems--one poor and urban and one well-off and suburban--has remained unnoticed by the public and policy makers. As for state and national policy makers, they have diverted attention away from the deep political, social, and economic forces that have conspired…

In this article, the author uses the academic/vocational split to reflect on some broader educational and cultural issues, for he thinks that the distinction as it is played out in school has much to teach people, whether or not they are directly involved with the issue of vocational education or, as it is now often called, career and technical…

According to this author, "unchecked capitalism is destroying the nation's public schools, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is the final nail in their coffin." He argues that, marching under the banner of "accountability," right-wing, pro-business forces are willfully undermining the democratic right of all children to a free,…

By the end of fourth grade, African American and Latino students, are two years behind their wealthier, predominantly white peers in reading and math. By eighth grade, they have slipped three years behind, and by 12th grade, the gap is full four years. These are just two examples of the most alarming figures that threaten the educational equity of…

Like many other U.S. cities, Philadelphia experienced a prolonged period of deindustrialization and job loss during the second half of the 20th century. As in other northern cities, the process of suburbanization went hand in hand with white flight, increased racial segregation of the city and its schools, and increasingly inadequate funding of…

The most recent Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools found that 74% of Americans believe that the achievement gap between white students and African American and Hispanic students is primarily due to factors unrelated to the quality of schooling that children receive. This assumption is supported by…

This article contains two arguments: one author maintains that New York's truth-in-testing law does not achieve its goals, while the other holds that the legislation does protect the consumer of educational tests. (IRT)

Authors' largely conciliatory response to the Valencia, Valenzuela, Sloan, and Foley article in this issue of the "Kappan" critical of their December 2000 article in support of the Texas Accountability System. (Contains 14 references.) (PKP)

The hard task of dealing with the myriad rules and procedures associated with delivering justice and equity in education is often dull, tedious, forbidding. But it is educators' work. (Author)

Text of Congressional testimony based on a continuing study of school finance, in which the authors recommended federal financial aid to States for undertaking reforms that will equalize educational opportunities and financial responsibilities. (Author/JF)

For five years the major school reform agenda in America has been the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, which was part of the most recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Now ESEA is up for another reauthorization by Congress, and everyone is wondering what is going to happen next. One could argue that there is…

Examines presidential attitudes toward education and speculates on how a second Reagan term or a Mondale presidency would affect education. (MD)