Despite all intentions in the course of the Bologna Process and decades of investment into improving the social dimension, results in many national and international studies show that inequity remains stubbornly persistent, and that inequity based on socio-economic status, parental education, gender, country-of-origin, rural background and more…

Over the past 15 years, federal, state, and local officials have pursued a broad range of reforms aimed at ensuring that the nation's public school system is more accountable--that it delivers a rich, full education for children in communities across the country. New research from the Kettering Foundation and Public Agenda suggests that there are…

Diane Ravitch's book, "The death and life of the great American school system," is an exploration and critique of educational change in the United States since the report "A Nation at Risk" in 1983 and more specifically since the passing of the No Child Left Behind legislation in January, 2002. Arguably, there are several…

Many urban school districts have recently implemented sweeping reforms that alter the ways in which educational services are administered. The environment in which these reforms are embedded is increasingly and more directly tied to core political institutions and business elites. Hence, as this dependence has grown, districts have become more…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) NCLB Anniversary Prompts Renewed Calls for Reauthorization: Growth Models, High School Reform Emerge as Points of…

The history of the Gary school campaign in New York City firmly suggests the way in which the schools reflected the internal conflicts and tensions, as well as the shared values and assumptions, of the larger society. (Author)

Many states and school districts are implementing test-based requirements for promotion at key transitional points in students' schooling careers, thus ending the practice of "social promotion"--promoting students who have failed to meet academic standards and requirements for that grade. In 2003-2004, the New York City Department of…

Between 1795 and 1993, elementary and secondary schooling in New York State shifted from a private/local to a public/state activity. That shift from local to state control and identity involved a lengthy political struggle and reveals the historical working-out of two conflicting themes in the American political tradition: popular democratic…

Under the auspices of the Instructional Programs Branch of the U.S. Office of Education, a 3-day conference was held May 21-23, 1962, on "Teaching Children and Youth Who Are Educationally Disadvantaged." The conference brought together from all over the Nation acknowledged leaders of public school programs expressly designed to realize…

The Regents 1978 progress report incorporates the progress reports of the State University of New York and the City University of New York, and the consolidated progress reports of independent institutions prepared by the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities. In the report the Regents have reviewed the contributions made toward…