forum

Fiscal Indiscipline
Why school districts can’t downsize

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?
By Jon Fullerton

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.
By William G. Ouchi

features

Competing Visions
Head Start gets a makeover. President Bush proposes to refocus Head Start on the teaching of academic skills. Should Democrats go along?
By Ron Haskins

Recycling Reforms
The Department of Education enters the innovation business
By Diane Ravitch

Autism and the Inclusion Mandate
Daniel experiences the regular classroom
By Ann Christy Dybvik

The Knowledge Guild
The tension between unions and professionals
By Denis P. Doyle

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.
By David Ferrero

Money and Motivation
Michigan links college scholarships to high-school results
By John H. Bishop

research

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.
By Brian Jacob and Steven D. Levitt

The Revolving Door
A path-breaking study of teachers in Texas reveals that working conditions matter more than salary
By Eric Hanushek and Steven G. Rivkin

from the editors

The More You Have...
Fiscal troubles plague the public schools

correspondence

Vouchers in the courts; disabilities and the SAT; teacher pay
Vouchers in the courts; The SAT; Licensing leaders; Teacher pay; The Asian-white gap

book reviews

Still Dreaming
The American Dream and the Public Schools By Jennifer Hochschild and Nathan Scovronick
By William A. Galston

Eye of the Beholder
All Else Equal: Are Public and Private Schools Different? By Luis Benveniste, Martin Carnoy, and Richard Rothstein
By Paul T. Hill

education matters to me

Ignoring Advice
The disillusionment of public school politics
By Robert Maranto