forum

Charters Beset
New obstacles to continuing growth

Friendly Competition
Sleek education management firms are a vital component of the charter school movement, but innovation is more likely from the visionaries who create unique, grassroots charters
By Bryan C. Hassel

Yellow Flag
The charter school movement will need to overcome a raft of political obstacles and high-profile scandals
By Bruno V. Manno

Special Needs
Can special ed be held accountable too?

Sisyphean Tasks
The reams of paperwork that currently serve as special education’s “accountability" system distract from the practice of teaching and learning. It is time to focus on results
By Patrick J. Wolf

Reaching the Ideal
Special education has its problems, but they mainly follow from the failure of schools to comply fully with the law
By Ann P. Turnbull and Rud Turnbull

features

Political Educator
Paul Vallas pays the price of leadership
By Alexander Russo

The Big Stick
How Chicago reversed its descent
By Kenneth K. Wong

The Philadelphia Experiment
The story behind Philadelphia’s Edison contract
By Jay Mathews

Choice & Freedom
Milton Friedman on education
By Pearl Rock Kane

Fanatical Secularism
The missionaries in public schools
By Charles L. Glenn

research

High Stakes in Chicago
Are Chicago’s rising test scores genuine?
By Brian Jacob

The Human Capital Century
Has U.S. leadership come to an end?
By Claudia Goldin

check the facts

Lobbying in Disguise
Do Charter Schools Measure Up? The Charter School Experiment After 10 Years by the American Federation of Teachers
By Robert Maranto

from the editors

Siegfried and the Urban Education Dragon
Can the next generation of superintendents tame big-city schools?

correspondence

The GED; value-added testing; and California accountability
The GED; value-added testing; and California accountability

book review

Education Matters: Selected Essays
Education Matters: Selected Essays by Alan B. Krueger
By Derek Neal

education matters to me

Much Ado About Something
Teaching students how to read the classics
By Carol Jago