Joseph P. Viteritti, who served on my dissertation committee, makes the following observations: “Joel Klein was a bold leader who imposed more changes on the city schools than any chancellor or superintendent in history. His policies directed the energy and the resources of the system towards those students with the greatest needs. His team was not always the […]
Paul Manna, Collision Course: Federal Ed...
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 […]
Diane Ravitch, The Death and Life of the...
This book arrived in spring 2010, and from the moment I saw it I knew I had to read and review it. A decade ago I was Diane’s research assistant and she served on my dissertation committee. I learned much from her, and I long have admired her intellect and intensity, and that she made […]
Ronald Reagan and Education Policy
Available in paperback and e-book formats from the retailers below. Order an author-signed paperback ~ Peek inside the book This book is a brisk read of 42 pages (7,600 words long). Description: Ronald Reagan entered the presidency promising to return K-12 education policy back to states and localities. Ironically, Reagan ended up both expanding and […]
Common Core Standards Released
On Wednesday, June 2, 2010, the Common Core Standards for English and mathematics were released. They can be downloaded from this web page: http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards. Sam Dillon of the New York Times writes, The standards, which took a year to write, have been tweaked and refined in recent weeks in response to some of the 10,000 […]
Susan Jacoby Bungles Education Reform
On March 14, 2010, the New York Times ran an op-ed by Susan Jacoby on education and federalism. Jacoby has written widely and smartly on many subjects, but why the Times felt she should handle this subject is a mystery to me. Plenty of other thinkers could have done a bang-up job, like Patrick McGuinn, […]