Noel Epstein, Editor, Brookings Institution Press and Education Commission of the States 2004
Herewith an interesting collection of essays on school governance, highlighting the tension between moves to decentralize control (through "site-based management" and similar reform initiatives) and those to centralize it (as in cities where mayors have taken charge or, some argue, in NCLB which gives more power to the feds). There is no one answer to the question of who should be in charge, and it's clear that in various ways everyone - parents, teachers, districts, boards, superintendents, states, and the feds - has a share of the action. The authors in this volume have differing views about how to sort out the tangles. Paul Hill's chapter is a gem. He wonderfully explains the synergy between choice- and standards-based reforms and argues that an ideal school system would offer the freedom-for-accountability tradeoff seen today in the charter school model. He sorts responsibilities according to "comparative advantage," to illustrate that decisions should be made by those in the best position to do so (locally for teaching decisions, at loftier levels for ensuring accountability and equity). Other worthy chapters include an examination of the practical implications of NCLB, both in centralizing power and potentially stifling variations among schools; Mike Kirst's argument that responsibility should lie with local boards and districts, which are most accountable to the public (surely a debatable point - click here); and editor Epstein's own chronicle of the ways in which schools increasingly substitute for families. On the other hand, Linda Darling-Hammond is less compelling as she regurgitates her complaints about Teach for America and praise for education schools, while calling for a federal policy to target the most acute teacher shortages. And Larry Cuban scores points when dissecting past reform failures, but loses the battle when he implies all is now basically under control in our schools (emphasizing that today's reforms are "born of a problem that no longer exists," namely the U.S. economy lagging behind Japan). You can order this collection online here.
