School Reform: The Critical Issues (Hoover Institution Press Publication) - Softcover

This joint undertaking of the Hoover Institution and the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy presents a collection of the most insightful, hard-hitting, and provocative recent articles on education reform. With unflinching candor, the expert contributors address the basic nature of our education problems, provide a clear understanding of why schools and students are underperforming, and propose reasonable and effective alternatives. The articles cover the full spectrum of education reform, including

• The nature and pitfalls of "progressive" education—and a more traditional, empirically supported alternative strategy
• Improving teachers—why teachers are ineffective, why it's so hard to fire bad teachers, how teachers should be tested and evaluated, and more
• The federal government's role in education—and how Title I's $118 billion has failed to close the gap
• Student responsibility and character education—why no school reform can succeed unless students learn to adopt the values, views, and virtues that foster good character
• The educationally disadvantaged—the failures of bilingual education, the scandal of special ed, why Ritalin rules the classroom, and why we must reform the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act