This article argues that while accountability is the watchword of overseers, too often it is the bane of the overseen. At its best, it reflects a prudent concern for good stewardship and responsible management of necessarily scarce resources; at its worst, it becomes a form of mindless hector-ing, in which careful oversight gives way to invective…

Describes outstanding public high schools in New York City that feature demanding curricula, qualified teachers, eager students, and no violence, vandalism, or truancy. Included are Peter Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech, Performing Arts, LaGuardia School of Music and the Arts, Aviation High, Bronx High School of Science, and Edward R. Murrow High. (JOW)

Attempts to explain why, despite its importance and expensiveness, education is generally neglected in the American press. Suggests that a major reason might be a lack of reliable outcome measures in education, which limits the amount of "hard" educational news. (KH)

For the sixth time in 24 years, Mr. Doyle, the author of this article, has enabled the Kappan to publish the education programs of the major Presidential candidates. In this article, he shares with readers his views on Campaign 2004.

Ponders Americans' disenchantment with politics. Presents essays outlining presidential candidates Bill Clinton's and Bob Dole's plans for education. Clinton/Gore campaigners stress the President's achievements (expanding Head Start) and plans to encourage charter schools, fight truancy, and increase college access. Decrying Clinton's friendship…

The shortcomings of America's public schools ripple through society at large. When schools are viewed as producers of human capital, their product is individuals prepared for additional education and the world of work. The role the business community should have in the schools is discussed. (MT)

The relationship between the decline of value-centered education in the 1960s and 1970s and the decline of academic standards is discussed. The question of the moral dimensions of learning and how values and the transfer of knowledge are irrevocably linked are explored. (Author/MLW)

The school system's uniformity is clearly a liability in the modern era. Today's schools need entrepreneurship, not change by rule, regulation, and statute. The central issue of entrepreneurship is not risk-taking, but innovative, implementation methods. Eventually, using private contractors to improve the management of instructional services will…

Tax credits and vouchers raise questions about the relationship between schooling and society: the tension between professional and parent, the role and place of values in education, the extent to which private schools should receive government aid, and the extent to which such aid might lead to government control of private schools. (MLW)

Disappointed with educational reform progress, the authors of "Winning the Brain Race" now believe that public schools no longer deserve monopolistic protection and can withstand competition from private schools and home schooling. The boundaries of public and private are already blurred by contracting for services. Technological…

U.S. education faces productivity and efficiency crisis. Because local, state, federal budgets are limited, schools must accomplish more with less. Few U.S. youngsters see themselves as workers or their school performance as greatly affecting later life. Teacher and student expectations are unreasonably low. Because schools cannot provide social…

Americans rate improving schools as a higher priority than lowering crime or improving the economy, but neither Republicans nor Democrats have strong proposals. Most of the money needed to improve the situation is already in place via federal Title I education funds. Title I could be turned into a voucher program, making it a federal education…

Examines the private sector's historic role in human capital investment, emphasizing its contemporary interest in public education and the workforce. Private sector philanthropy is currently an issue of survival to public education. An important private sector role is to act as a political catalyst to push through essential educational reform. (SM)

This essay offers a preliminary examination of public support for private elementary and secondary education as it is incorporated into the systems of Denmark, Australia, and Holland. Its purpose is to stimulate American thinking about family choice systems. After a brief introduction on the ad hoc quality differentials in American public…