Winter 2004 / Vol. 4, No. 1
FEATURES
Ignoring Advice
Back in 1976, when I was a crackerjack reporter for the Woodlawn High School Calumet, I interviewed the Baltimore County school district’s superintendent, Joshua Wheeler. The conversation was to provide my introduction to the politics of public education. I asked Wheeler, who was about to retire, why the district did not require students to pass […]
Money and Motivation
Michigan links college scholarships to high-school results
Why Choice Is Good for Teachers
Traditionalists and progressives coexist warily in today’s public schools, creating fragmented institutions with no common ethos. Letting teachers start their own schools may bring an end to the pedagogical holy wars.
The Knowledge Guild
The tension between unions and professionals
Autism and the Inclusion Mandate
Daniel experiences the regular classroom
Recycling Reforms
The Department of Education enters the innovation business
Competing Visions
Head Start gets a makeover. President Bush proposes to refocus Head Start on the teaching of academic skills. Should Democrats go along?
RESEARCH
The Revolving Door
A path-breaking study of teachers in Texas reveals that working conditions matter more than salary
To Catch a Cheat
The pressures of accountability may encourage school personnel to doctor the results from high-stakes tests. Here’s how to stop them.
FORUM
Academic Freedom
The typical urban school district’s personnel and budgeting systems leave principals without much say in hiring teachers or allocating resources. The decentralization movement may just change that.
Mounting Debt
The long economic boom enabled school districts nationwide to fund expensive reforms and hefty pay raises. Now, however, they are finding it nearly impossible to cut costs and balance their budgets. What makes it so tough for districts to downsize?
Fiscal Indiscipline
Why school districts can’t downsize
CHECK THE FACTS
BOOK REVIEWS
Eye of the Beholder
All Else Equal: Are Public and Private Schools Different? By Luis Benveniste, Martin Carnoy, and Richard Rothstein
Still Dreaming
The American Dream and the Public Schools By Jennifer Hochschild and Nathan Scovronick
