Features

The 2008 Education Next-PEPG Survey of Public Opinion
Americans think less of their schools than of their police departments and post offices
By William G. Howell, Martin R. West and Paul E. Peterson

The Early Education of Our Next President
Not much in public schools
By Peter Meyer

Scrap the Sacrosanct Salary Schedule
How about more pay for new teachers, less for older ones?
By Jacob Vigdor

Out of Jail and Into Jobs
Maya Angelou Public Charter School offers hope and an education to kids in trouble
By James Forman Jr.

An Appeal to Authority
The new paternalism in urban schools
By David Whitman

Forum

Preschool Puzzle
As state after state expands pre-K schooling, questions remain
By Douglas Besharov and Craig Ramey

Research

Cash for Test Scores
The impact of the Texas Advanced Placement Incentive Program
By C. Kirabo Jackson

From the Editors

The Next President Had Many School Choices
Will he provide similar opportunities for others?
By Paul E. Peterson

Correspondence

Readers Respond
Disrupting class; Governor Schwarzenegger; Reading First; New York City charters;wrong numbers; charter sector

The Legal Beat

Home Schoolers Strike Back
California case centers on parents’ rights
By Josh Dunn and Martha Derthick

Book Review

Something’s Better Than Nothing
Why technology in education doesn’t need to be very good
By Nathan Glazer

Where Did NCLB Come From?
The true story of the federal role in education
By Luther Spoehr

Book Alert

What Next

Arrested Development
Online training is the norm in other professions. Why not in K–12 education?
By Michael J. Petrilli

School Life

What Do College Students Know?
By this professor’s calculations, math skills have plummeted
By W. Stephen Wilson