It would be wrong for the United States to provide universal prekindergarten education for three reasons. First, the overwhelming majority of three- and four-year-olds already have access to various forms of preschool. Adding a publicly financed program would be costly and unnecessary. Second, a universal program still would not reach the neediest…

Americans will debate for many years to come the causes and implications of the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., as well as the foiled attack that led to the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in a Pennsylvania field. Between the first and second "anniversaries" of 9/11, another development deepened their awareness of…

To no one's surprise, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has become a political football in this election season. Amidst the heated rhetoric and impassioned claims, it can be easy to forget that NCLB is no one thing but rather an awkward compendium of many disparate pieces. While public officials are pressed to render absolute judgments--that…

Discusses the results of two studies comparing charters schools with traditional schools. Both studies suggest that charter schools are more successful in retaining better teachers than are traditional schools. Finds, for example, charter schools are much more likely than traditional public schools to employ teachers who lack regular state…

Discusses evolutionary stages in the education establishment's reaction to charter schools: stopping them cold, keeping them few and weak, competing with them, and accepting and using them. Charters are not revolutionary. They embody three time-tested features: community rootedness; resemblance to magnet and alternative schools; and institutional…

Provides background information on the Hudson Institute's "Charter Schools in Action" project that studied 50 charter schools in 10 states. Examines innovative ways charter schools organize and support themselves, and presents five lessons from the charter-school movement. Public schools would benefit by becoming more consumer-oriented, diverse,…

A federal secretary of education would be more like a school board chairman than he would a superintendent of schools. (Author/IRT)

Reviews the history of the two teachers' unions, presenting the differences and rivalry between the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. Details their differing responses to the current "excellence" movement. (MD)

Reviews some changes witnessed during the past three years in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), the only federal government unit explicitly dedicated to supporting systematic inquiry about education. Although dwindling and underfunded, OERI has recently demonstrated some great renewal potential. (MLH)

Discusses the dismal results of the 1986 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) appraisal of American high school students' knowledge about history and literature. Explores connections between cultural literacy and students' family background, homework, and television viewing habits. Recommends more and better history and literature…

Summarizes three reasons for attending school (social, personal, and utilitarian) amd focuses on what should comprise utilitarian education for noncollege-bound high school students. Advocates curricula incorporating the skills, knowledge, values, and habits--especially continued willingness to learn--that will benefit students throughout…

Replies to Crandall's claim that Finn had disrupted a decade of solid research in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement Office (OERI) regional educational laboratories. According to Finn, these labs have wasted taxpayers' money. Currently, states command school policy and finances, and key decision-makers are governors and…

Addressing the underlying tension that generally exists between school-level autonomy and systemwide uniformity, the author's nine commandments include recognizing the school as the key organizational unit in public education, selecting and nurturing first-rate principals, and granting more budgetary authority to the school level. (JBM)

Inspired by Thomas S. Kuhn's book "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions," this article redefines education. Under the old conception, education was viewed as a process and system, or an effort and intention. Education as newly defined changes the emphasis from inputs to outcomes. Only if the process succeeds will education have truly happened.…