ES Review: Selections From 2007

From the promise of virtual schooling to the plight of Sallie Mae, the second edition of the ES Review brings together, in one setting, some of our best work from 2007.

Leading the Local: Teachers Union Presidents Speak on Change, Challenges

Presidents of 30 local teachers unions in six states speak candidly about their views on a number of education issues, revealing that they are focused on far more than the traditional union priorities of wages, hours, working conditions, and due process for their members.

ES Review, Fall 2006

The first edition of the ES Review, a compilation of our best work over the past several months, features abridged versions of our recent reports, interviews, debates, and commentary—all in one downloadable PDF.

Collective Bargaining in Education

Collective bargaining shapes the way public schools are organized, financed, staffed, and operated. Edited by Education Sector's Andrew Rotherham and Jane Hannaway of the Urban Institute, Collective Bargaining in Education takes an in-depth look at the controversial world of teacher collective bargaining.

Teaching Fishing or Giving Away Fish? Education Grantmaking For Research, Policy and Advocacy

A chapter from With Best Intentions.  Essays from the book examine how philanthropic giving has become so important to contemporary school reform and is shaping education policy.

Is Education on the Wrong Track?

In The New Republic, Policy Director Kevin Carey debates Diane Ravitch over her new book, The Death and Life of a Great American School System. While the book succeeds as history, it fails entirely as anaylsis, Carey argues.

Detroit Schools are on a Slow Reform Path

Although Detroit's new teachers contract breaks a logjam, the deal is not the radical change Detroit Public Schools need, argues Co-founder Andrew Rotherham argues in The Detroit News.

Education Legacy: Schools Must Improve Under McDonnell

In an opinion piece for the Richmond-Times Dispatch, Education Sector's Andrew Rotherham argues that among the many challenges Governor-elect Bob McDonnell will face in Virginia, education reform is a key place where McDonnell could make meaningful change happen.

In Politics of School Reform, Transparency Doesn't Equal Accountability

Given how the politics of education work, transparency will drive change only in concert with policies actually requiring change. Information alone is not enough, says Education Sector's Andrew Rotherham in U.S. News & World Report.

Education Reform Requires Symbols for the Movement to Embrace

In a column for U.S. News & World Report, Andrew Rotherham critiques the lack of symbolism in the education reform movement. Fairly or not, says Rotherham, imagery matters.

Making the Grade

In this article for The New Republic, Andrew Rotherham and Richard Whitmire explore whether AFT President Randi Weingarten can satisfy teachers and education reformers at the same time.

Invite the Utes to the White House

The President traditionally invites the national championship college football team to the White House for a ceremony and photo op. But this year there is disagreement over who the national champion should be. The controversy leaves President-elect Obama with a smart political play to make: Invite the Utah team for a White House visit, too.

Dear President-Elect Obama

In a commentary for National Public Radio, Co-director Andrew Rotherham says the next president will have two important tools at his disposal to be successful on education: the power of the podium and the power of the purse.

Still At Risk

It has been 25 years since the publication of the U.S. Department of Education's explosive report "A Nation at Risk." Its powerful indictment of American education launched the largest education-reform movement in the nation's history. But there's still much work to be done, argues Education Sector's Thomas Toch for Newsweek.

Collective Bargaining in Education: A New Dialogue

Andrew J. Rotherham describes the changing educational policy landscape in a National Governors Association conference presentation.

America's Teaching Crisis

Our public schools are failing, warn Andrew J. Rotherham and Jason Kamras in Democracy. To save them, we must invest in our teachers.

Steal This Education Agenda

In The Politico, Andrew J. Rotherham and Richard Whitmire give presidential candidates reasons to care about education.

Conservatives and No Child Left Behind

In a commentary on National Public Radio, Andrew Rotherham explains why conservative opposition to NCLB is problematic for President Bush.

Sorry Schools, Unions Aren't the Only Problem

Andrew J. Rotherham reviews former Secretary of Education Rod Paige's "War Against Hope" in The New York Post.

Sticking it to The Man

Nonresident Senior Fellow Joe Williams reviews Cross-X, an unlikely story of an inner-city high school debate team that makes it to the national Tournament of Champions debate competition.

Fallout Shelter

What does the 2006 midterm election mean for education? Education Sector's Andrew J. Rotherham explains.

Clean Up This Mess!

In The Washington Post, Thomas Toch and Sara Mead examine why the District of Columbia and its various governments have struggled to fix the city's schools for nearly four decades.

Have Hope, Will Travel

Abdul Kargbo reviews The Boys of Baraka, a documentary film about a group of at-risk boys from Baltimore City who are chosen to attend a special all-boys' school in Kenya.

Echo Chamber: The National Education Association's Campaign Against NCLB

In a new report, Education Sector Non-resident Senior Fellow Joe Williams documents how the National Education Association gives millions of dollars to nonprofit organizations to advance its anti-NCLB agenda.

New Roles for an Old Player

Andrew J. Rotherham outlines new roles for teachers unions in an increasingly pluralistic public education system.

Liberal Reforms: A Conversation with Eva Moskowitz

Eva Moskowitz roiled New York City's educational landscape for six years from her seat on the council's education committee, lost her bid for Manhattan Borough President, and is about to launch a charter school in Harlem. She discusses with Thomas Toch her insights into big city school systems, why she broke ranks with Democrats on public education, and more.

"65 Percent Solution" Doesn't Add Up

The Florida Legislature is considering enacting the controversial "65 percent solution" to regulate district expenditures. In the Orlando Sentinel, Kevin Carey explains why that's a bad idea.

Market Forces: Professor Paul Peterson's Influential Protégés

Harvard professor Paul E. Peterson is best known in education circles as a leading advocate of giving public school students government-funded tuition vouchers to attend private schools. Less well known is his role in training an influential group of young, market-oriented education scholars.

National Education Standards (transcript)

On March 10, 2006, Education Sector hosted a live debate on national education standards. Read the full transcript from this important discussion featuring leading proponents and opponents of national standards.

Learning on the Job

Rather than adding to the ideological fire, a new book by Steven Wilson examines the actual experiences of school-management organizations.

"Education Should Be a Rich Symphony"

The late Ted Sizer was one of American education's most influential thinkers. In 2006, Education Sector's Andrew Rotherham got a chance to sit down with Sizer to discuss school reform, instruction and curriculum, the standards movement, No Child Left Behind, school choice, high school reform, higher education, and what he considered to be his unfinished work.

Education Reform Lessons from England

Sir Michael Barber, a leading architect of England's education reform agenda in the past decade, talks about the challenges of school reform, No Child Left Behind, teachers unions, and how education policy compares to health policy.

65-Percent Plan Fails Basic Math

To meet the demands of the federal No Child Left Behind law, educators need the resources necessary to teach all children to high standards and the flexibility to spend that money in a way that makes sense for their local schools. Unfortunately, some are trying to turn back the clock with a simplistic idea called the "65-cent solution."

Education Dragonslayer

Book review of  Education Myths: What Special-Interest Groups Want You To Believe About Our Schools And Why It Isn't So, by Jay P. Greene, Rowman & Littlefield 2005.

GOP Drives Federal Role in Education

Since the creation of the U.S. Department of Education in 1979, one Republican administration after another has steadily increased the department's influence—and in the process set in motion fundamental changes in the nation's education system.

Anthony Carnevale

Research Professor, Georgetown University

Richard L. Colvin

Director, Hechinger Institute on Education & Media

William A. Galston

Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution  

Dan Goldhaber

Research Associate Professor of Public Affairs, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington

Bryan C. Hassel

Co-director, Public Impact  

Frederick M. Hess

Director of Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute

Paul T. Hill

Director, Center on Reinventing Public Education, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington

Richard D. Kahlenberg

Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation

John King

Co-founder, Roxbury Preparatory Charter School

David Kirp

Professor of Public Policy, Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley  

Michael Kirst

Professor of Education, Stanford University

Robin J. Lake

Associate Director, Center on Reinventing Public Education, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington  

Steven Wilson

Non-resident Senior Fellow, Center for Business and Government, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University