Using Massachusetts as a case study, calls into question some of the common sense approaches to education reform and discusses how political-economic ideologies embedded in high-stakes testing adversely affect Latinos and obfuscate the growing social inequalities in U.S. society. Argues that educational opportunity programs are the missing link…

Proposes a meltdown of academia's "detestable frozen hierarchies" by the abolition of rank and tenure, the formation of militant, inclusive unions of faculty with staff to battle administrators in corporatized education, and the serious teaching of the general-purpose prose that students need and faculty members want. (SC)

Argues that composition has neglected the circulation (delivery) of writing by figuring classroom life as a middle-class family drama. Draws on Marx's "Grundrisse" for a conceptual model of how circulation materializes contradictory social relations and how contradictions between exchange value and use value might be taken up in writing…

Notes that writing assessment has become an important specialty within composition studies with links to such "suspicious partners" as educational research, statistics, and politics and with profound effects on public policy and educational funding. Discusses the modern era of writing assessment beginning during the fall of 1971 an its…

Studied the scope, process, and effects of student participation in university governance, including student government through semistructured interviews with 31 faculty and student respondents. Findings show that students are capable of administering their own affairs, satisfying various student needs, and protecting the political interests of…

Among 2,321 Russian adults surveyed, about half supported market institutions and about a third supported state-based economic institutions. Higher educational level was associated with proreform attitudes. Economic ideology strongly affected voting behavior, party choice, income, Communist party membership, and prodemocracy views, and also…

Discusses how to bring political issues into the classroom, highlighting the influence of local context and noting conservative and liberal criticisms of political correctness. Suggests the need for a different idea of how to teach politically from the advocacy pedagogy advanced by recent critical educators, explaining that bringing students into…

Reflects on "Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children," a report from the National Academy of Sciences that centers on phonological awareness, decoding, word recognition, and literal comprehension. Reframes the report from the perspective of the New Literacy Studies, which takes a sociocultural approach. Stresses tensions…

Describes characteristics of effective superintendents based on interviews with 18 men and women with an average of 13 years' experience in their current positions. Superintendents offer insights on decision-making, stress management, avoiding surprises, and responding to political pressure. (PKP)

Examines higher education in Indonesia, Nicaragua, and Vietnam to illustrate how use of a credit system is linked to policies and institutions associated with capitalist, market-based economies, and how the credit system, embedded within a network of other educational practices, has transformed the university into an institution focused more on…

Argues that if President George W. Bush is interested in improving the educational system, he should address the real problem (disproportionately low wages for teachers) like a good businessman would do: by raising teachers' salaries significantly in order to draw the most talented people. (SR)

Presents an interview with Alfie Kohn, who has written and spoken widely on human behavior, education, and social theory. Discusses high-stakes testing, democracy, and the politics of literacy. (RS)

Discusses recent school finance litigation and legislation in Ohio resulting in school finance reform with an emphasis on educational adequacy. Focuses on the politics of school finance reform. (Contains 41 references.) (PKP)

Presents the author's acceptance speech when named 2000 Outstanding Educator in the Language Arts by the Elementary Section of the National Council of Teachers of English. Shares her life story to argue that teachers' actions have the potential to add, deepen, or change current trends and events within the struggle for educational justice. (SG)

Discusses how in 1999, the authors interviewed faculty, administrators, and students involved in teacher education to learn how the Massachusetts teacher test was affecting the business of teacher education. Argues that the most significant effect of the teacher test has been on admissions, as teacher education programs have begun linking…