To capture some of the benefits of small-scale schooling, educators are looking for ways to downsize, including dividing large schools into subunits or "schools within a school." This approach establishes within the school a smaller educational unit with a separate educational program and its own staff, students, and budget. This digest…

Developments in several states suggest that a state-imposed accountability system is gradually taking shape. State authorities have established both incentive systems to reward high-performing school districts and systems of sanctions to be applied to districts with a record of repeated low performance. To accomplish this, a majority of states are…

Charter schools are created and managed by an entity composed of parents and/ or teachers, community and/or business leaders, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit businesses. Many people believe that charter schools can provide a high quality education without the regulatory constraints of the conventional public schools. This digest reviews…