The author reports on some $800 million in money set aside for Supplemental Education Services which is being freed up under the Obama administration's NCLB waiver plan. The U.S. Department of Education's plan to grant states broad flexibility under the No Child Left Behind Act will free up as much as $800 million in money school districts now…

Under pressure from the U. S. Department of Education (USDOE) and select private foundations, state officials have rushed to establish and enforce sets of standards for the K-12 public schools sector. This writer analyzed selected samples from several state sets and found them to be technical specifications without the needed prerequisite learning…

This brief summarizes the lessons learned during a February 2010 AYPF study mission to North Carolina that examined how rural education systems are providing high quality instruction and improving the readiness of young people for life beyond high school. Participants learned about how federal and state policies and funding streams affect rural…

The past decade has witnessed an unprecedented expansion of the influence of the private sector in all aspects of public education. Across the United States, test publishers, software companies, virtual charter school operators, and other industries are rapidly moving to take advantage of the significant revenues made available by public policies.…

A shift to computer skills for improving academic performances was investigated. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 increased the amount of high school dropouts after the Act was enacted. At-risk students were included in this research study. Several models described using teachers for core subjects and mentors to built citizenship skills, along…

The last few decades have seen an unprecedented transformation in business involvement in education, particularly in Western industrialized societies where privatization, commercialization and neo-liberal discourses continue to dominate educational thinking and practice. This paper foregrounds the growing perception of math and science as…

In 2008, due to increasing stakeholder dissatisfaction with assessment results and school report cards, South Carolina revised its 1998 Educational Accountability Act and required public engagement with stakeholders including parents/guardians, educators, business and community leaders, and taxpayers. The legislation created partnerships between…

Breaking new ground in studies of business involvement in schooling, this book dissects the most powerful educational reforms and highlights their relationship to the rise of powerful think tanks and business groups. Over the past several decades, there has been a strong movement to privatize public schooling through business ventures. At the…

Innovation has powered America's economy, creating good jobs and a high standard of living. Yet, the U.S. share of innovation-based industries is in decline, jeopardizing our status as the world's innovation leader. And one reason is that the United States has been unable to produce enough of its own workers with sufficient skills in science,…

This article briefly analyzes the Spellings Commission Report on Higher Education, places it in the context of other American education reforms, and suggests ways for literacy educators to respond to this latest call for accountability in ways that are cognizant of political realities without compromising the integrity of our profession.

This highly acclaimed volume in the "Defending Public Schools" series is now available in paperback from Teachers College Press. It is a practical, necessary addition to the work of administrators, teachers, policymakers, and parents as they negotiate the difficult path of how to best teach and educate today's children and youth. This…

Most Americans actually understand the importance of an education rich in arts, science and humanities. But what they may not realize is that their children are not getting enough. Each day more and more of the arts and humanities are being drained from our nation's school curriculums. Studies have shown that the arts play a stimulating role in…

This article examines the standardized high-stakes testing in the wake of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) movement. It focuses on the political economy of the testing industry; that is, a look into the ownership, intent, and regulation of the private forces that produce, provide materials, prep sessions, and tutorials for and evaluate, report on,…

Is the United States getting it wrong when it comes to educating tomorrow's innovators in critical fields? It has been known for years that the only way to compete globally in information technology, engineering, nanotechnology, robotics and other fields is to give students the best educational opportunities possible. But do individuals have a…

This tool kit is intended to help business leaders seize specific opportunities to partner with educators and political leaders in the next year to implement reforms called for by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which provides new accountability measures and resources to raise the achievement of students throughout the United States. The…