School choice has become an increasingly available option for families in the United States. Given the current political climate, music educators must better understand the various dimensions of the school choice movement and how it may affect the music classroom. Following a brief history of school choice, this article offers a look at the…

For more than a century, public education in the U.S. has been defined as schools that are funded, regulated, and exclusively delivered by government. The past 25 years have brought some diversified forms of delivery through charter schools and various private-school scholarship mechanisms. Nevertheless, most discussions and debates over school…

Many education reporters are drawn to the beat because of its complexity and rich variety. Few topics provide such a wealth of political, business, human interest, breaking news, feature, and investigative stories. A reporter's day can start in a classroom with 4-year-olds struggling to learn to read, and end at a school board meeting with…

In November 1997, 140 researchers, administrators, and others interested in the support of nonpublic schools gathered at the University of Dayton to develop a research agenda for American private education. What developed over the several hours of intense sessions was an agenda that has given direction to researchers well into the 21st century.…

As part of a larger project to rethink the federal role in elementary and secondary education, the Center on Education Policy prepared this compendium, which summarizes the findings of major studies of the implementation and effects of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) conducted by various organizations and agencies. The brief summaries are…

Regardless of roles in society, people will be affected by what happens in the field of education in the coming decades. The impact may be personal and direct as a child or grandchild moves through the schooling process. Or, it may well relate to the quality of employees and, thus, chances for business success. Certainly, the impact the…

This brief examines how No Child Left Behind (NCLB) dollars flow from the federal government through states and districts and into the coffers of companies, mostly for-profit companies. The brief makes the case that the law enriches many private companies and individuals, especially those close to President George W. Bush and his family. The brief…

The education voucher idea is reviewed and comparisons are made among three existing plans. The basic idea is that the government issues a voucher of monetary value directly to families to pay for education. Existing proposals include the California Coons/Sugarman plan from the 1970's, the Friedman plan, and the Jencks proposal. These plans vary…