Over at the Federal Education Policy Hitory website, I have posted a review of Paul Manna, Collision Course: Federal Education Policy Meets State and Local Realities (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2011).

I think highly of the book, noting:

“In Collision Course, Manna, a professor at William & Mary,  has judiciously considered the evidence to date on NCLB and its implications.  The reader of this book will come away with a greater appreciation of the challenge of education reform…”

and

“Manna’s big take-away is ‘NCLB created positive momentum and inspiring results in some states and local communities … [but] overall its theories of action were fundamentally in conflict with the institutional landscape on which American schooling operates…'” (read more)