Great School Debate

Good, Thomas L.; Braden, Jennifer S.

• Contents: Preface. American Education: How Good Is It and Who Should Control It? Crisis in Public Education: Past and Present. Student Performance in American Schools: An Empirical Report Card. The Emergence of School Vouchers and Choice in American Schools. In the 1990s, Government Created Charter Schools. Charter Schools: Effective Investment or Wasteful Experiment. Charter Schools: Some of the Best and Worst in American Education? Dealing With Complexity and Uncertainty: Moving Schooling Forward. Epilogue: Presidential Election 2000 and Beyond.

"As the level of public debate over the merits of voucher systems and charter schools increases, particularly in the forum created by national elections, there is a pressing need for The Great School Debate. This is the book for those who wonder about the future of the common public school and who seek reliable, empirical evidence for its purported strengths and weaknesses, as well as for those of its alternatives....Highly recommended for all collections."—CHOICE"The book was fascinating! I just couldn't stop reading it. Its real strength is its even-handed evaluation of the evidence. Everyone else in the field writes from such a biased perspective. I am slated to teach a course on educational change next year, and I will definitely use it. Thanks for putting me into the loop on this one."—Nancy WinitzkyUniversity of Utah"At last we have authors who understand the complexity of the issues they discuss and shed light on the debate about alternatives to traditional forms of public education."—David BerlinerArizona State University"This book is a 'must read' for elected officials who are considering legislation in their state."—Marion L. PickensArizona State Legislature