This article presents a review of "Investing in Kids: Early Childhood Programs and Local Economic Development" by Timothy J. Bartik. Timothy Bartik's timely book contributes to an important conversation about the role of government in promoting investments in children in the years before traditional public schooling typically begins. Until…

Reviews "Education and Democratic Theory: Finding a Place for Community Participation in Public School Reform" (A. Belden Fields and Walter Feinberg) and "The Color of School Reform: Race, Politics, and the Challenge of Urban Education" (J. Henig, R. Hula, M. Orr, and D. Pedescleaux). Both books examine the political aspects of reform. Integrates…

Reviews two books: "Beyond Affirmative Action: Reframing the Context of Higher Education" (Robert A. Ibarra) and "Diversity Challenged: Evidence on the Impact of Affirmative Action" (Gary Orfield and Michael Kurlaender). Discusses what is known about affirmative action in higher education, what educators consider affirmative action's appropriate…

Reviews "Globalizing the Community College: Strategies for Change in the Twenty-First Century" (John S. Levin) and "Honored but Invisible: An Inside Look at Teaching in Community Colleges" (W. Norton Grubb and Associates), which examine the historical role of community colleges, pointing out that community colleges no longer act as entry points to…

Reviews "The Market Approach to Education: An Analysis of America's First Voucher Program" (John Witte), which examines the Milwaukee Parent Choice Program (MPCP) and describes school voucher politics that have focused significant national attention on the MPCP since its inception. Suggests that the book understates the inadequacies of the MPCP…

Reviews the book, "Contradictions of School Reform: Educational Costs of Standardized Testing," (Linda M. McNeil, 2000) which explores the effects of state- and school district-imposed accountability measures, including standardized testing, on teachers and students (most of whom are children of color) in an urban setting. The book illustrates how…

Reviews "Presence of Mind: Education and the Politics of Deception," (Pepi Leistyna, 1999) which discusses the American politics of identity and difference, analyzing how deceptive political ideologies operate through educational policy, schooling, and popular culture to reproduce the current racialized social order. The book offers tools for…

Reviews reasons educational practice is less influenced by curriculum theories than in the past and responds to the criticism by William Wraga that theory and practice have split. Notes the gendered nature of the relationship between theory and practice in curriculum, in that more theorists are male and more practitioners are female. (SLD)

Criticizes the response by William Pinar as not addressing points raised in Wraga's essay on reconceptualized curriculum studies. Pinar's vision of hopelessness for reforming the curriculum field continues the insulation of curriculum theorists from the complex problems of school practice. (SLD)

Responds to Eisner's discussion of the nature of research and the place of qualitative research. Advocates increased emphasis on the true experiment in educational research to provide evidence of the usefulness of educational practices. (SLD)

Explores the nature of educational research, replying to Knapp's comments on the role of qualitative research. Suggests that the "true" experiment is very hard to conduct in educational research and discusses what validity means in the educational research context. (SLD)

Discusses the opinions of Daniel A. Wagner and Richard L. Venezky about the field of adult literacy, and challenges their position that the field needs to continue to develop along existing lines. Suggests that alternatives to traditional classroom-based literacy be studied to provide research-based alternatives to traditional practices. (SLD)

Continues the exploration of the future direction for the field of adult literacy and calls for improved empirical underpinnings for practice in the area of adult literacy and the improvement of the research base. (SLD)

Comments on the discussion by Ginette Delandshere and Anthony Petrosky of the numerical rating of complex performances in the context of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Early Adolescence/English Language Arts assessment. Conceptualizes the discussion in terms of matching information to purpose in testing. (SLD)

Responds to Susan Brookhart's comments on the discussion of assessing complex performances by Delandshere and Petrosky. Notes that the article focused on the meaning and usefulness of scores or ratings in the context of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards assessments. (SLD)