forum

Accountability Gains
Are we measuring achievement gains accurately enough?

Sizing Up Test Scores
The latest innovation in measuring the performance of schools and teachers holds great promise, but the idea is still way ahead of our ability to execute it
By Dale Ballou

Expert Measures
All the evidence to date shows that value-added techniques are being employed responsibly
By Anita A. Summers

The Business Model
Like the makers of hot dogs, psychometricians, economists, and other testing experts know too well what goes into the creation of achievement tests. Their intimate knowledge of the technical difficulties involved in measuring student achievement makes a number of these testing experts some of the most vocal (and persuasive) opponents of testing...
By Jay P. Greene

Enemy of the Good
No standardized test is perfect. But they’re useful nonetheless
By Donald R. McAdams

features

Vouchers on Trial
Will the Supreme Court’s decision in Zelman end the debate?
By Joseph P. Viteritti

The Supreme School Board
Vouchers on Trial A view from inside the courtroom
By Paul E. Peterson

Bipartisan Schoolmates
President Bush forges a consensus on federal education policy
By Siobhan Gorman

Monster Hype
School violence, the media’s phantom epidemic
By Joel Best

Swing State
The downs and ups of accountability in California
By Michael W. Kirst

Unrequited Promise
Tracing the journey of New American Schools

research

The Power of Peers
How does the makeup of a classroom influence achievement?
By Caroline M. Hoxby

check the facts

Waiting for Utopia
The New York Times education columnist believes in education reform. He just doesn’t think it has much to do with schools
By David W. Murray

Two Steps Forward?
2002, a year full of promise in education reform

correspondence

NCATE responds
Margaret Raymond and Stephen Fletcher’s findings (“Teach for America,” Research, Spring 2002) from their initial evaluation of Teach for America (TFA) are not too surprising, given the makeup of TFA recruits and the teachers with whom they are being compared.

book review

Surface Wounds
Revolution at the Margins: The Impact of Competition on Urban School Systems by Frederick M. Hess
By Edward B. Fiske and John Gardner

Data Vacuum
Only larger voucher experiments will yield answers
By William G. Howell

education matters to me

In the Shadow of Terror
Life returns to not quite normal at Stuyvesant High
By Laura Krug