Education in America

Reformers demand a better class of teachers, but rewarding the good and weeding out the bad is trickier than it seems.

At its best, service learning enriches both students and their communities. But creating good programs isn’t easy.

Entrepreneurs promised they could rescue public schools and turn a profit too. Reality intruded.

Joe Nathan Rosa Parks-yes, that Rosa Parks-recently applied to open a charter school in Detroit. That’s one of many things omitted in Richard Rothstein’s critique of the charter public school movement [“Charter Conundrum,” TAP, July-August 1998]. As a researcher, a former teacher in inner-city public schools, and a former PTA president whose three children attend […]

Society needs to help the very young, long before formal schooling begins, or the battle for the next generation will be lost.

Conservatives ask, “Are you for or against school choice?” The question should be, “What kind of choice are you for?” Americans’ historical experience can help answer that question.

A few years ago educational standards and national testing seemed on their way. But the push for standards has set off predictable reactions from different quarters. Ironically, testing now may be downgraded in importance.

The conventional wisdom is that American students perform woefully compared to their foreign peers. Not so: America’s kids stack up far better than the critics allow. But there is much to learn from experience abroad about improving our schools.