Charters, Vouchers and Public Education. (Book Reviews)."Round up the usual suspects," said actor Claude Rains in the movie "Casablanca," but in the book, Charters, Vouchers and Public Education, edited by Paul E. Peterson Paul E. Peterson is a leading scholar on education reform.[1] His work has largely focused on the importance of parental choice for improving school outcomes. He is Editor-In-Chief of Education Next and David E. Campbell, there's no need to do that because all the usual suspects are present in this volume. Chester Finn, Terry Moe, Diane Ravitch Diane Ravitch is a historian of education, an educational policy analyst, and former United States Assistant Secretary of Education who is now a research professor at New York University's Steinhardt School of Education. and Jay Greene Jay Greene is a retired NASA engineer. He worked as a flight controller during the Apollo Program and was a flight director from 1982 to 1986, most notably serving as ascent flight director at the time of the Challenger accident in 1986. , for example, are well-known advocates for school choice, vouchers and/or charter schools as alternatives to public education, as are most of the essayists The following is an abbreviated list of essayists, arranged alphabetically by last name (years of birth and death, if applicable, and country of birth, are noted in parentheses). Note: An individual's country of birth is not always indicative of his or her nationality. in this book. As a counterpoint, Edward Fiske and Helen Ladd offer a "cautionary tale" about the need for public accountability. The book acknowledges that all research results are not yet complete in terms of student achievement effects but it does point to a few positive studies in larger cities. On the topic of school choice, Greene notes that recent research "has consistently positive results" for choice, but adds "at least on some questions." He portrays teacher unions and their "friends and allies" as vested interest Vested Interest A financial or personal stake one entity has in an asset, security, or transaction. Notes: For example, if you have a mortgage, your bank has a vested interest on the sale of your house. See also: Right groups when they describe results of the studies as inconclusive. Most studies cited in this book indicate some academic improvement through alternative programs, particularly by African-American students, but some research is indeed inconclusive. As for vouchers, Ravitch proposes an exceptional notion--a five-year moratorium on all legal challenges to school voucher programs so uninterrupted research can obtain more definitive answers to their impact. The book's editors, Peterson and Campbell, suggest Washington, D.C., as the best location to construct a major study because policymakers could observe the results firsthand. (Charters, Vouchers and Public Education, edited by Paul E. Peterson and David E. Campbell, Brookings Institution Brookings Institution, at Washington, D.C.; chartered 1927 as a consolidation of the Institute for Government Research (est. 1916), the Institute of Economics (est. 1922), and the Robert S. Brookings Graduate School of Economics and Government (est. 1924). Press, Washington, D.C., 2001, 322 pp. with index, $18.95 softcover) |
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