In recent years, the federal government (under Republican and Democratic administrations alike) has encouraged the outsourcing of core parts of public education's work, including testing and test preparation, teaching and tutoring, data collection, and human resources management. However, researchers have found little evidence to support policy…

When it comes to the role of research in shaping public policy and debate, one might reasonably argue that this is the best of times. No Child Left Behind (NCLB), with its frequent mention of evidence-based decision making, has underscored the role that objective knowledge should play in a democratic society. The Institute of Education Sciences,…

This article discusses the issue of trust in the education system. What is different about the issue of trust in the education system is the assault upon it, sometimes overt but most often subtle. There is a difference between strong criticism and willful manipulation. The nation's schools are responding to the former--perhaps too slowly for…

Reviews the history of federal support for compensatory education from the conception of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1967 to its recasting as Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981. Analyzes the reasons behind the the success of the federal effort. (PGD)

The 1965 Immigration Act has significantly influenced American institutions and agencies. This act, which focused on family reunification and desired occupational skills instead of racial origin, has resulted in a massive increase of immigrant students from Asia and Latin America without increased funding to educate and assimilate them. Reduction…

Equal access to quality education for all is the chief mission of the Carter administration's policy. (Author)

Discusses the political battles over federal support of education in the Congress since Reagan's election to the Presidency, including the reaction to the impact of the report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education. Contrasts the activities and attitudes of Reagan and Kentucky's late Democratic Congressman Carl Perkins. (PGD)

Although postsecondary participation has soared during the past quarter century, the proportion of college students completing degrees has remained flat. White and higher-income kids graduate at much higher rates than their less advantaged classmates. Public policy's challenge is expanding successful intervention programs to a vastly larger scale.…

Selfishness has spawned a new breed of racism, driven by fear, fed by scarcity, and manifested through economic imperatives. California's Proposition 187 and Herrnstein and Murray's book "The Bell Curve" are built on racist foundations. Our current obsession with race is driven by an economy and an elitist social system that is…

The Minnesota Plan offers the kinds of major structural and delivery reforms (many adopted by Minnesota's legislature) that public education must undertake to achieve significant improvement: the restructuring of secondary education, the deregulation of the curriculum and instruction, the redesign of instruction and instructional management, and…

Reflects on the rationale for federal involvement in education (particularly on behalf of the disadvantaged), considers the Reagan Administration's efforts to diminish the federal role, discusses research on the effectiveness of federal initiatives, proposes an appropriate federal role, and examines the impact of existing legislation. (Author/PGD)