An assessment of the school reform movement, this book focuses on the states of the Deep South--Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. Ten articles, organized into three sections, tackle such issues as the role of government in school reform, the professional growth of teachers, and the privatization of schools. Part 1 includes the following: "Public Education's Last Hurrah? Schizophrenia, Amnesia, and Ignorance in School Politics" (William Lowe Boyd); "Bill Clinton and Arkansas: Can Political Leaders Reform the Schools?" (Robert W. Johns); "Curriculum Reform and Professional Expertise: The Florida Experience" (C. J. B. Macmillan); and "Merit Pay: Resurrection of an Unworkable Past" (Kenneth D. McCracken and David J. Vold). Part 2 is concerned with particular reform movements. Articles include "Educational Reform in Mississippi: A Historical Perspective" (Robert L. Jenkins and William A. Person); "Educational Reform in Alabama: 1972-1989" (Charles F. Rudder); and "The Illusion of Educational Reform in Georgia" (Wayne J. Urban). Part 3 considers one possible outcome of current reform efforts--the deregulation of schooling. Articles include "Imagining Sisyphus Happy with Educational Reformers" (David E. Denton) and "Democratic Tension and the Future of the Public School" (David J. Vold). (LMI)