Our Schools and Our Future Are We Still at Risk?

by Peterson, Paul E.

• ISBN13: 9780817939229
• ISBN10: 0817939229
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-02-01
• Publisher: Hoover Institution Press

Summary

This book assesses the changes that have occurred in the twenty years since A Nation at Risk, which urged major reforms in American education, was issued by the National Education Commission. It offers recommendations based on three core principles—accountability, choice, and transparency—that can reinvigorate the system and rekindle America's confidence in public education.

Author Biography

Paul E. Peterson is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and a member of the Koret Task force on K-12 Education. Peterson is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government and the director of the Program on Education, Policy and Governance at Harvard University. His current research interests include educational policy, federalism, and urban policy, and he is currently evaluating the effectiveness of school voucher plans around the country.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
John Raisian
Contributors	xi
Preface	xvii
Paul E. Peterson
ARE WE STILL AT RISK?
Findings and Reconunendations	3	(22)
Koret Task Force on K-12 Education
PART ONE: "A NATION AT RISK": THEN AND NOW
1. A Historic Document	25	(14)
Diane Ravitch
2. Little Gain in Student Achievement	39	(34)
Paul E. Peterson
3. What Has Changed and What Has Not	73	(38)
Caroline M. Hoxby
4. Minority Children at Risk	111	(30)
Paul Hill, Kacey Guin, and Mary Beth Cello
5. The Importance of School Quality	141	(36)
Eric A. Hanushek
PART TWO: WHY SO LITTLE WAS REFORMED
6. The Politics of the Status Quo	177	(34)
Terry M. Moe
7. Teacher Reform Gone Astray	211	(28)
Chester E. Finn Jr.
8. The Curricular Smorgasbord	239	(42)
Williamson M. Evers and Paul Clopton
9. Neglecting the Early Grades	281	(24)
E. D. Hirsch Jr.
PART THREE: GETTING SERIOUS
10. Real Accountability	305	(24)
Herbert J. Walberg
11. Real Choice	329	(34)
John E. Chubb
Index	363