"The Educational Morass" is about the ineffectiveness of public education in the United States today and why it is unlikely to achieve significant improvement in the absence of heavy external pressure. The reason for these conclusions and what can be done about it are the core of this book. It is an explanation of why the most popular…

This article discusses the limited use of education vouchers in an era of unprecedented growth in school choice. It is divided into two parts: first, a description of the policy, political, and legal barriers that may limit the expansion of large-scale voucher programs is presented. Discussion then shifts to the efforts of voucher advocates to…

Politicians, less interested in purity than in popularity, are generally wary of national standards. Yet a standards-based accountability system is the core component of NCLB, and in some ways it has made standards advocates victims of their own success. Now, many activists are agitating to cut back the role of Washington in education, and a…

School choice is often identified with right-leaning, voucher-happy, market-oriented public school systems like those found in the United States. Thus the proposition that a social democratic state such as South Africa will offer many primary and secondary school learners far greater choice strikes many as counter-intuitive and implausible. The…

Parental satisfaction is critical to the politics of school reform. Many charter school advocates have no qualms in talking about a charter school movement, linking charter schools to a larger political effort to reform the system of education in the United States. If this movement is to have traction, parents who are satisfied with their…

Presents the positive benefits to be gained from diversifying the public school system and allowing a wider choice in school selection. Outlines the problems that would ensue from establishing an educational voucher system. Choice enhances teacher quality, student achievement, parent involvement, and public confidence in schools. (MD)

How can communities encourage the development of good school alternatives harnessed to solid public oversight? Do charter or voucher schools face particular accountability challenges? What do parents need if they are to make sound choices? In particular, what do the poorest parents need? How do advocates of more school choice deal with the…

Examines how the introduction of the Cleveland voucher experiment in 1995 affected the administration and leadership of Cleveland's public schools. As of summer 2001, the program has produced virtually no visible effects. Results suggest that choice-based reform may not spur improvement in urban school systems, at least in the short term or when…

Recounts some of the history of attempts to establish magnet and other voluntary, choice-oriented policies in urban school districts. Discusses the elements that must be included in programs established in those districts. (SR)

Educators and policymakers who share the goal of equal opportunity in schools often hold differing notions of what entails a just school in multicultural America. Some emphasize the importance of integration and uniform treatment for all, while others point to the benefits of honoring cultural diversity in ways that make minority students feel at…

This article examines an effort to use urban schools to promote the revitalization of a large northeastern city in the United States. In order to attract and retain professional families to a regenerated central city, downtown schools are re-branded and promoted to such families as suitable for their children. The article draws on interviews and…

Issues in the current discussions surrounding educational choice are discussed in this paper, which examines several underlying assumptions through an analysis of selected metaphorical constructs in a selective review of the choice literature. A conclusion is that the rhetorical power of choice is based on imprecise, limited, and ambiguous…

Outlook is the monthly newsletter for the Council for American Private Education (CAPE). Each issue contains information relating to private education such as: new legislation and regulations, the most recent research, court rulings, national trends, federal initiatives, private school news briefs, and more. This issue contains the following…

The many advantages of preserving the nature of community schools is discussed in light of the development of voucher programs and reasons to oppose the voucher system are outlined. [This document originally appeared in the "IDRA Newsletter", however some accompanying charts and graphs may not be provided here.]

Examines rebirth of the school choice idea in the 1980s. Attributes interest in choice to renewed interest among conservatives and unprecedented changes in sentiment toward public education among liberal policy scholars, African-American parents, and state governors. Employs the state relative autonomy theory of political power and the garbage can…