School Reform The Critical Issues

This joint undertaking of the Hoover Institution and the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy presents a collection of the most insightful, hard-hitting, and provocative recent articles on education reform. With unflinching candor, the expert contributors address the basic nature of our education problems, provide a clear understanding of why schools and students are underperforming, and propose reasonable and effective alternatives. The articles cover the full spectrum of education reform, including The nature and pitfalls of "progressive" education-and a more traditional, empirically supported alternative strategy Improving teachers-why teachers are ineffective, why it's so hard to fire bad teachers, how teachers should be tested and evaluated, and more The federal government's role in education-and how Title I's $118 billion has failed to close the gap Student responsibility and character education-why no school reform can succeed unless students learn to adopt the values, views, and virtues that foster good character The educationally disadvantaged-the failures of bilingual education, the scandal of special ed, why Ritalin rules the classroom, and why we must reform the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act