Member Since 2011

Richard D. Kahlenberg


Richard D. Kahlenberg is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, where he writes about a variety of education issues. He has been called “the intellectual father of the economic integration movement” in K-12 schooling, and “arguably the nation's chief proponent of class-based affirmative action in higher education admissions.” He is also an authority on teachers’ unions, private school vouchers, charter schools, turnaround school efforts, and inequality in higher education. He is the author of four books: Tough Liberal: Albert Shanker and the Battles Over Schools, Unions, Race and Democracy (Columbia University Press, 2007); All Together Now: Creating Middle Class Schools through Public School Choice (Brookings Institution Press, 2001); The Remedy: Class, Race, and Affirmative Action (Basic Books, 1996); and Broken Contract: A Memoir of Harvard Law School (Hill & Wang/Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1992.) In addition, Kahlenberg is the editor of seven Century Foundation books: Affirmative Action for the Rich: Legacy Preferences in College Admissions (2010); Rewarding Strivers: Helping Low-Income Students Succeed in College (2010); Improving on No Child Left Behind: Getting Education Reform Back on Track (2008); America’s Untapped Resource: Low-Income Students in Higher Education (2004); Public School Choice vs. Private School Vouchers (2003); Divided We Fail: Coming Together Through Public School Choice. The Report of The Century Foundation Task Force on the Common School, Chaired by Lowell Weicker (Executive Director) (2002); and A Notion at Risk: Preserving Public Education as an Engine for Social Mobility (2000). Kahlenberg's articles have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, and elsewhere. He has appeared on ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, C-SPAN, MSNBC, and NPR. Previously, Kahlenberg was a Fellow at the Center for National Policy, a visiting associate professor of constitutional law at George Washington University, and a legislative assistant to Senator Charles S. Robb (D-VA). He is also a nonresident senior fellow at Education Sector and serves on the advisory board of the Pell Institute. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and cum laude from Harvard Law School. Between college and law school, he spent a year at the University of Nairobi School of Journalism as a Rotary Scholar.

Published Articles & Media

A Smarter Charter: A Response to Nelson Smith

We welcome the chance to respond to Nelson Smith's review of our book, particularly on issues of teacher voice, diversity and achievement.

Rethinking the 
High School Diploma

Education Next talks with 
Chester E. Finn, Jr., Richard D. Kahlenberg and Sandy Kress

What Explains KIPP’s Success? Peers May Be A Big Part of the Story

The new study is far less definitive than advertised because it addresses, at most, only one of the three ways in which peer influences might make a difference in KIPP’s success.

Unions and the Public Interest

Is collective bargaining for teachers good for students?

Philosopher or King?

Shanker sought to transform teacher unions into a powerful voice for education reform, proposing ideas that were unconventional for a union president.

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