Reviews the report "Do Charter Schools Measure Up? The Charter School Experiment After 10 Years" created by the American Federation of Teachers. Argues that rather than being serious research, the report is an indictment against charter schools for the purpose of retaining the union's power in public schools. (WFA)

Calls for the elimination of state licensure requirements for public school principals and superintendents. Argues that such action will increase the pool of those qualified to be school leaders. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure.) (PKP)

Describes efforts to implement standards-based reform in the Houston School District using both a top-down and a bottom-up approach, where local schools were allowed considerable autonomy in achieving reform, but given direction, training, and resources by the district. (PKP)

Describes the planning, leadership, and organizational strategies that formed the basis for the Houston School District's efforts to implement standards-based reform. Identifies some reform initiatives that need to be expanded, such as new uses of online instruction and new approaches to the recruitment and training of teachers. (PKP)

Argues that school choice runs counter to the common culture taught in most American public schools until the late 1960s. Discusses reasons why schools no longer teach a common culture. States that if the public schools returned to teaching a common American culture, school choice would be less compelling. (PKP)

Suggests that state-mandated testing will not restore the teaching of common culture in public schools, since most schools teach test-related technical skills rather than a deep and shared understanding of literature, history, mathematics, science, and foreign language. Certain choice schools, unfettered by state testing requirements, may be the…

Identifies three trends that restrain the ability of public school to transmit a common culture: The high concentration of racial and ethnic minorities in urban schools, the widespread teaching of multiculturalism, and legal decisions that have undermined the authority of principals and teachers. Private choice schools may counter these trends.…

Describes how teacher unions influence public-school policies through collective bargaining; local, state and national politics; and opposition to certain school-reform initiatives such as school choice. States that unions pursue policies that benefit teachers rather than students. Suggests that as school choice spreads, power of teacher unions…

Reports on union-negotiated reforms in several large urban school districts that included peer review, teacher induction, professional development, and performance rewards. (PKP)

Cites research finding strong association between presence of teacher unions in a state and high performance on SAT and ACT. After briefly tracing the development of the teacher-union movement, describes Rochester Teacher Association's efforts to reform itself and to support district reform efforts. Describes Teacher Union Reform Network. (PKP)