Paul Hill and Robin Lake with Mary Beth Celio
2002
The indefatigable and prodigious Paul Hill, here joined once again by Robin Lake and Mary Beth Celio, has produced this outstanding Brookings study of charter-school accountability, based on an examination of 150 schools and 60 authorizers in six states. Much is packed into these 120 pages that will interest followers of charter schools as well as students of education accountability. Given today's lively interest in charter-school accountability itself, the book couldn't be timelier. It's interesting, provocative, thoughtful and informative. It breaks new ground in its discussion of the (mostly lackluster) performance of charter authorizers. It explores such new concepts as "internal accountability." It accurately depicts the several directions in which charter schools are simultaneously accountable. And it elegantly describes the complex, fruitful interplay between charters and standards-based reform. A first-rate and welcome piece of work, the ISBN is 0815702671 and you can obtain further information from http://www.brookings.edu/press/books/schools_accountability.htm.
