The career magnet high school programs of the New York City (NYC) public school system were evaluated in an experimental study. The experimental design compared the ninth-grade performance of students randomly selected for magnet schools with those who "lost the lottery." It included 91 pools of students: 3,272 with average reading…

Pursuant to the emerging political issue of government financial support for private schools in the United States, a study was made of the Australian system of educational finance, which includes substantial government aid to nongovernment schools. Following a historical analysis and typology of government educational policy in both countries, a…

The current debate on educational choice concerns whether locally centralized school systems of the kind that predominate in the public school sector are responsive to and can accommodate the diversity of educational consumers' preferences. Section I analyzes policy options and illustrates how policymakers, by examining a range of solutions to the…

For the last 10 years, polling data have recorded a consistent decline in the American citizen's support for public education. While public schools experienced an 8 percent decline in enrollment between 1968 and 1978, private school enrollment grew by 12 percent. The decline in quality of public education over the last 50 years appears strongly…

During 1985-86 the School Community Education Program (also known as the Umbrella Program), funded by the New York State Legislature, provided a variety of educational and training experiences to some 25,871 participants, including pre-kindergarten children and their parents; and students, teachers and supervisors from kindergarten through grade…

In many places across the country, public school students no longer automatically attend their neighborhood school. Instead, parents may decide that their child's needs are better met elsewhere, for example, at a small alternative school, an arts magnet school, a charter technology high school, or a media academy operating within a larger school.…

This paper asserts that central to the debate over excellence and equity in education is the shifting nature of authority over public education in the schools and school districts of Greater Boston, Massachusetts, noting that the autonomy that local school districts have historically exercised is fading, if not gone. The 1993 Massachusetts…

This education plan sets out a vision for instruction and school development so that Chicago Public Schools, Illinois, can become the premier urban school district in the United States. It represents a year of planning and program development in the areas of human capital, professional development, the Chicago Reading Initiative, the redesign of…

The creation of a quasi-market in England and Wales schooling has changed pupil, parent, and school behavior in a way that has reinforced the dominance of traditional, academic schooling. A study summarized results of research into this quasi-market behavior, with particular emphasis upon the upper secondary age group. The study found that while…

This volume features the reform journeys of six American high schools. The six high schools portrayed here include four large comprehensive high schools (Oakland Technical High in Oakland, California, and Brighton High in Boston, Massachusetts, are urban; Sir Francis Drake in Marin County, California, and Rex Putnam in North Clackamas, Oregon, are…

State leaders are using complex accountability systems, composed of standards, assessments, public reporting, rewards, and sanctions, to raise student, school, and district achievement. The public strongly supports making academic standards more challenging, despite a lack of consensus on content and outcomes. Some states may revise standards…

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 requires that workforce investment areas establish individual training accounts (ITAs) that provide vouchers customers can use to pay for training. The United States Department of Labor is supporting the ITA experiment, during which new customers determined to be eligible for training will be randomly…

Formatted in a question-and-answer style, this book is intended to provide a survey and overview of the federal law governing the placement of students with disabilities. It explores the procedural and substantive requirements of the placement process and addresses the most common concerns that arise in this area of special education law. The…

This book presents a collection of essays by researchers and educators that examine the largest school system in the U.S.--the New York City school system. There are 5 parts with 15 chapters. Part 1, "Education in the City," includes: (1) "Schooling in New York City: The Socioeconomic Context" (Emanuel Tobier) and (2)…

Citing Aristotle, Franklin and Einstein as proponents of a broad, liberal-arts education, Finn and Ravitch promote the need for liberal learning as preparatory to the civic life needed for a well-functioning democracy. Drawing together the work of a number of educators, the editors have organized this volume in two sections. Part I, Liberal…