The school choice movement has become a major focus for traditional public school leaders. Facing declining student population and millions of dollars in lost funding, superintendents are now focused on the creation of effective market competition strategies. This represents not only a shift in thinking but adds another dimension to their…

Over the past 25 years a major shift in political ideology has refocused educational politics from equality issues to issues relating to excellence, accountability, and choice. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) first passed in 1965. NCLB legislation is a continuation of the educational…

Despite the creeping resegregation of public schools, recent court decisions have been involved in the lifting of court-ordered desegregation decrees, which could arguably cause further segregation. When dismissing desegregation decrees, lower courts have relied on three U.S. Supreme Court decisions during the 1990s that permitted a lower standard…

A considerable body of scholarship has examined the history of compulsory attendance in the United States in an effort to explain why compulsory attendance laws were enacted, what effects they had on school attendance rates, and what made enforcement of these laws effective eventually. Recent research has revealed that some long-standing…

The need for alternative education programs that work is paramount in light of the nation's public education crisis. The problem is that alternative education programs fail to adequately address the issues that At-Risk students bring to, and face in, the alternative and/or the traditional classroom. This study utilized a qualitative and a…

An education gap between white students and their black and Hispanic peers is something to which most Americans have become accustomed. But this racial division of education--and hence of prospects for the future--is nothing less than tragic. The good news is that the racial divide in learning is a problem that can be fixed. Of course, it can only…

This chapter is organized as follows. The first section examines the evolving state and federal role in education and the implications of an expanded federal role on the structure of the educational system. It pays particular attention to how the debate on the causes and solutions to school reform has shifted and the impact this has had on school…

U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings called on the nation's Roman Catholic schools to become active in providing tutoring to public school students under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Under the law, public schools that fail to meet improvement goals for two consecutive years must provide transportation for students to transfer to…

The author forthrightly declares in this book of essays on school reform that teachers are no more saintly than anyone else, that poor schools should be closed and lousy teachers should be fired, that philanthropy may sometimes do more harm than good, that teaching experience is not essential to being a school principal, that schools should be…

In this article, Frederick Hess discusses public opinion trends related to educational issues from the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2002 through 2006. Using data from three separate public opinion polls, Hess analyzes the general public's and parents' opinions on several issues, including the proper use of large-scale…

This article reports how the stakes are getting higher for the various states as the 2006 state elections are approaching this fall. This article also discusses how the future of education policy will be heavily influenced by the votes cast in the November elections. Even with the heightened federal role under the No Child Left Behind Act, state…

Next week, President George W. Bush will submit his eighth and final budget request to the Congress. How has he fared with respect to education budget proposals thus far? Answer: although President Bush made the No Child Left Behind Act, which deals with elementary and secondary education, the hallmark of his education policy, from a federal…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB, 2002) has generated controversy and support since its inception. Parents, teachers, researchers, authors, advocates, protesters, and politicians have shared views and opinions based on "political" beliefs, biases, and anecdotal and research-based evidence that supports their stance. In attempt to…

The upcoming reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) will be contentious, especially given the size of the act and the role it gives the federal government. When making decisions about reauthorization, it is important to consider the early evidence about the act's implementation and effectiveness. The first important finding about NCLB is…

The goal of this article is to move beyond the more traditional question, "Does business have a role in public education?" A historical overview of education suggests that the involvement of the private sector is not a new phenomenon and is not likely to end in the near future. Here, the authors argue that a much more fruitful line of…