The chapters presented in this report take stock of much of what has been tried and learned about state policy leadership in bridging the divide between K-12 schools and postsecondary education. They bring together the work and perspectives of the authors and of several sponsoring and collaborating organizations, including: Editorial Projects in…

This report is a follow-up to "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades" (Williams, Kirst, Haertel, et al., 2010). That study specified a comprehensive set of actionable practices that differentiated higher academic achievement among 303 middle grades schools in California. In doing so, the study provided a compelling and coherent account of…

California's school finance system is long overdue for reform. The authors propose a new system that is more rational, more equitable, and, they believe, politically feasible. At its core, their proposal aims to link district revenue to student needs and regional costs while ensuring that all districts are held harmless at current funding levels.…

The evolution and governing structure for teacher education and certification provide the context for analyzing the probable impact and issues caused by the implementation of performance-based teacher education (PBTE). Because the concept of PBTE is still being refined, such an analysis must be of a prescriptive and speculative nature. However,…

Major demographic shifts in the population of the United States, combined with persistent gaps in educational achievement by ethnic group, could decrease the portion of the workforce with college-level skills over the next 15 years, with a consequent decline in per capita personal income in the United States. Meanwhile, the competitive edge of…

The U.S. educational system's strengths are inclusiveness, superior postsecondary education programs, improved content standards and measurements, local flexibility, and socialization and the common school. The system's weaknesses are failure to educate its non-college-bound students, understand shifting family structures, improve teacher training…

Traces development of educational accountability in California; examines role of state political leadership; considers impact of requirements of reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act. (PKP)

The papers in this report fall into three focus areas: (1) new goals and objectives for educational institutions, with a stress on normative analysis of public policy alternatives and a reexamination of prior assumptions on which research is based; (2) the political education of youth, with a particular examination of directions in research on…

The movement toward math and science curriculum standards is inextricably linked with high-stakes politics. There are two major types of politics discussed in this paper: the allocation of curriculum content, and the political issues involved in systemic change. Political strategies for gaining assent to national, state, and local content…

This report, the result of a 5-day conference on the politics of education, reviews the four research focus areas covered during the conference: (1) new goals and objectives for educational institutions, (2) the political education of youth, (3) analysis of the governance of educational institutions, and (4) the study of input/output/feedback…

Evaluating the impact of the recent state education reforms is an issue now confronting every state legislature. This paper focuses upon evaluating state education policies for a legislative audience. The text of the paper covers the following topics: (1) the urgency of staff evaluation; (2) how evaluation can help state legislators; (3)…

During the 1970s the states greatly increased their role in educational policy innovation at the expense of local school districts. Previously, the states had varied widely along the spectrum of centrist versus localist control; they had been strongest only in such traditional areas as attendance, accreditation, and school facilities regulation.…

The slump experienced by many high school seniors stems in part from the failure of the K-12 school system and colleges and universities to provide incentives for high school seniors to work hard. Senior slump appears to be the rational response of students to some disjunctions between the K-12 and postsecondary systems, including a lack of…

America's high school students have higher educational aspirations than ever before, yet these aspirations are being undermined by disconnected educational systems and other barriers. These educational aspirations cut across racial and ethnic lines with scant differences. As this study demonstrates, access to college-preparation-related policy…

This book offers a comprehensive analysis and description of the political aspects of American education, utilizing both empirical data and case studies on the politics of education. Included are two case studies of recent school policies, which focus on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 and the school desegregation…