Frederick M. Hess's Books

Letters to a Young Education Reformer

By: Frederick M. Hess

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Letters to a Young Education Reformer

By: Frederick M. Hess

In Letters to a Young Education Reformer, Frederick M. Hess distills knowledge from twenty-five years of working in and around school reform. Inspired by his conversations with young, would-be reformers who are passionate about transforming education, the book offers a window into Hess’s thinking about what education reform is and should be. Hess writes that “reform is more a matter of how one thinks about school improvement than a recital of programs and policy proposals.” Through his essays, he explores a range of topics, including: -Talkers and Doers -The Temptations of Bureaucracy -The Value in Talking with Those Who Disagree -Why You Shouldn’t Put Too Much Faith in Experts -Philanthropy and Its Discontents -The Problem with Passion Hess offers personal impressions as well as lessons from notable mistakes he’s observed with the hope that readers will benefit from his frustrations and realizations. As the policy landscape continues to shift, Letters to a Young Education Reformer offers valuable, timely insights to any young person passionate about transforming education—and to not-so-young reformers who are inclined to reflect on their successes and failures.

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203

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Harvard Education Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1682530248

ISBN 13

9781682530245

A Search for Common Ground

Conversations About the Toughest Questions in K–12 Education

By: Frederick M. Hess,Pedro A. Noguera

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A Search for Common Ground

Conversations About the Toughest Questions in K–12 Education

By: Frederick M. Hess,Pedro A. Noguera

At a time of bitter national polarization, there is a critical need for leaders who can help us better communicate with one another. In A Search for Common Ground, Rick Hess and Pedro Noguera, who have often fallen on opposing sides of the ideological aisle over the past couple of decades, candidly talk through their differences on some of the toughest issues in K–12 education today—from school choice to testing to diversity to privatization. They offer a sharp, honest debate that digs deep into their disagreements, enabling them to find a surprising amount of common ground along the way. Written as a series of back-and-forth exchanges, this engaging book illustrates a model of responsible, civil debate between those with substantial, principled differences. It is also a powerful meditation on where 21st-century school improvement can and should go next. Book Features: Modeling dialogue: Rick and Pedro provide a model for how to sort through complicated issues and find common ground in today’s atmosphere of distrust. Deliberate, sustained exchange: Rick and Pedro demonstrate how deliberate, sustained reflection allows them to respectfully flesh out differences and sharpen their own thoughts. Left and Right Politics: Rick (generally Right) and Pedro (generally Left) offer a window into where they do and don’t agree on education and point the way to principled cooperation.Readable and conversational: Rather than pushing a partisan agenda, Rick and Pedro have crafted a stimulating read for education newcomers and experts alike.Unique approach: While other books about the different sides of the education debates simply present paired essays, Rick and Pedro actually engage with each other to strive for a deeper understanding of their differences.

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193

Publisher

Teachers College Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807779474

ISBN 13

9780807779477

Getting Education Right

A Conservative Vision for Improving Early Childhood, K–12, and College

By: Frederick M. Hess,Michael Q. McShane

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Getting Education Right

A Conservative Vision for Improving Early Childhood, K–12, and College

By: Frederick M. Hess,Michael Q. McShane

In Getting Education Right, Rick Hess and Mike McShane argue that America has too long suffered from the absence of a robust, coherent, and principled conservative vision for educational improvement. The book both diagnoses a problem and offers a solution. The problem? The right has too narrowly focused on school choice, campus speech, and shrinking Washington’s footprint, while the left has sought to subsidize and supersize the status quo. The solution? An education system imbued with shared values, respectful of family ties, and equipped for the challenges of the 21st century. Rooted in fundamental conservative principles, the book explains both how we got here and where we need to go when it comes to early childhood, K–12, and higher education. Eschewing performative polemics, this book offers a field guide to bringing education back to its formative mission. Readers from across the ideological spectrum will benefit from engaging with the provocative analysis Hess and McShane offer, whether or not they agree with the policies they propose. Education is the foundation on which America’s future will be constructed, and Getting Education Right provides a timely blueprint for that project. Book Features: A conservative vision for the direction of American education in early childhood, K–12, and higher education.A stimulating and informative presentation for audiences across the ideological spectrum.An explanation of what it means to be a conservative in education today applied to a series of crucial questions about American schooling.A readable and accessible text with plenty of anecdotes, provocative data points, and real-world solutions. Authors who are especially well-suited to this task given their prominence as influential conservative scholars and pundits.

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119

Publisher

Teachers College Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807782270

ISBN 13

9780807782279

Education Unbound

The Promise and Practice of Greenfield Schooling

By: Frederick M. Hess

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Education Unbound

The Promise and Practice of Greenfield Schooling

By: Frederick M. Hess

What if it's the system that's the problem? What if the key to breakthrough school improvement is not mandating new solutions built on an elusive combination of the right standards, pedagogy, and assessments but removing entrenched bureaucratic barriers and rethinking restrictive norms and routines? What if we were free to start from scratch? This is the greenfield reform strategy: Create an environment that invites new solutions to surface and provide the infrastructure necessary for them to succeed. In Education Unbound: The Promise and Practice of Greenfield Schooling, Frederick M. Hess advocates for an entrepreneurial approach focused on supporting outstanding teaching and learning. Sharing the examples of organizations whose bold alternative strategies represent promising shifts in K-12 education, Hess builds a case for * School systems marked by data on performance and productivity and compelled to compete on cost and quality. * Personnel policies designed to attract, retain, and reward teachers and leaders committed to excellence. * Education funding configured to support new ventures and foster creative problem solving. The goal, Hess argues, ought not to be the creation of a new "best" system but schools capable of evolving with the students and society they serve. Education Unbound is a catalyst for conversation and change and a must-read for practitioners, policymakers, would-be education entrepreneurs, and anyone committed to school excellence and the next steps in education reform.

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180

Publisher

ASCD

Published Date

ISBN 10

1416612238

ISBN 13

9781416612230

No Child Left Behind Primer

By: Frederick M. Hess,Michael J. Petrilli

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No Child Left Behind Primer

By: Frederick M. Hess,Michael J. Petrilli

Hess is a specialist in education policy at the American Enterprise Institute and Harvard U.; Petrilli is with the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a Washington-based school reform organization. They offer a concise guide to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), covering the history and key elements of the law, how it is intended to work, how i.

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164

Publisher

Peter Lang

Published Date

ISBN 10

082047844X

ISBN 13

9780820478449

The Same Thing Over and Over

How School Reformers Get Stuck in Yesterday's Ideas

By: Frederick M. Hess

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The Same Thing Over and Over

How School Reformers Get Stuck in Yesterday's Ideas

By: Frederick M. Hess

Whatever they think of school vouchers or charter schools, teacher merit pay, or bilingual education, most educators and advocates take many other things for granted. The one-teacherûone-classroom model. The professional full-time teacher. Students grouped in age-defined grades. The nine-month calendar. Top-down local district control. All were innovative and excitingùin the nineteenth century. As Hess shows, the system hasn't changed since most Americans lived on farms and in villages, since school taught you to read, write, and do arithmetic, and since only an elite went to high school, let alone college. --

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303

Publisher

Harvard University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0674055829

ISBN 13

9780674055827

Private Enterprise and Public Education

By: Frederick M. Hess,Michael B. Horn

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Private Enterprise and Public Education

By: Frederick M. Hess,Michael B. Horn

The growth of for-profit providers in the K16 education sector has generated more than its share of controversy. From the emergence of charter schools to post-secondary options like the University of Phoenix, for-profit providers have been lauded for their capacity to serve historically underserved populations but derided for their pursuit of profitwhich, critics argue, is at the expense of the public good. This important volume takes stock of the debate, neither demonizing nor celebrating the for-profit sector, to understand what it takes for for-profits to promote quality and cost effectiveness at scale. Contributors address how policymakers and other education stakeholders can create an environment where the power of for-profit innovation and investment is leveraged to better serve students. The role that private enterprise can and should play in American education needs to be brought to the forefront of reform discussions. Editors Hess and Horn move beyond heated rhetoric to offer a thoughtful and probing analysis that will enable stakeholders to craft a viable future for public education.

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273

Publisher

Teachers College Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807772992

ISBN 13

9780807772997

Spinning Wheels

The Politics of Urban School Reform

By: Frederick M. Hess

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Spinning Wheels

The Politics of Urban School Reform

By: Frederick M. Hess

Almost everyone agrees that America's urban schools are a mess. But while this agreement has fostered widespread support for aggressive reform, Frederick Hess argues that much of what ails urban education is actually the result of continuous or fragmentary reform. Hess explains that political incentives drive school superintendents to promote reforms--to demonstrate that they are "making a difference." Superintendents have to do this quickly, both because their tenure is usually three years or less and because urban communities are anxious to see educational improvement. However, the nature of urban school districts makes it very difficult to demonstrate concrete short-term improvement. The result is what he terms "policy churn," which distracts teachers and principals from efforts to refine classroom teaching while seldom resulting in successful long-term changes. Hess argues that policymakers have misallocated resources by pursuing the "right" structure or the "best" pedagogy while paying insufficient attention to the more mundane--and more important--questions of how to implement, refine, and sustain a particular approach in their particular district. Hess explains that previous research on high-performing schools suggests that the best schools are characterized by focus and by an ability to develop expertise in specific approaches to teaching and learning. To help educators and policymakers adopt and nurture a focused agenda, he recommends institutional changes that increase the effectiveness of performance outcomes and reduce the incentives to emphasize symbolic reform.

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241

Publisher

Brookings Institution Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0815719957

ISBN 13

9780815719953

Common Sense School Reform

By: Frederick M. Hess

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Common Sense School Reform

By: Frederick M. Hess

Forget everything you think you know about school reform. Cutting through the cant, sentiment, and obfuscation characterizing the current school reform debate, Frederick M. Hess lacerates the conventional "status quo" reform efforts and exposes the naivete underlying reform strategies that rest on solutions like class size reduction, small schools, and enhanced professional development. He explains that real improvement requires a bracing regime of common sense reforms that create a culture of competence by rewarding excellence, punishing failure, and giving educators the freedom and flexibility to do their work. He documents the scope of the challenges we face and then provides concrete recommendations for addressing them through reforms to promote accountability, competition, a 21st-century workforce, effective school leadership, and sensible reinvention. Engagingly written and drawing on real world experiences and examples, Common Sense School Reform will generate debate and help set the agenda for the future.

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274

Publisher

St. Martin's Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1250086396

ISBN 13

9781250086396

Revolution at the Margins

The Impact of Competition on Urban School Systems

By: Frederick M. Hess

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Revolution at the Margins

The Impact of Competition on Urban School Systems

By: Frederick M. Hess

For more than a decade, school choice has been a flashpoint in debates about our nation's schooling. Perhaps the most commonly advanced argument for school choice is the notion that markets will force public schools to improve, particularly in those urban areas where improvement has proved so elusive. However, the question of how public schools respond to market conditions has received surprisingly little attention. Revolution at the Margins examines the impact of school vouchers and charter schooling on three urban school districts, explores the causes of the behavior observed, and explains how the structure of competition is likely to shape the way it affects the future of public education. The book draws on research conducted in three school districts at the center of the school choice debate during the 1990s: Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Cleveland, Ohio; and Edgewood, Texas. Case studies examine each of these three districts from the inception of their local school choice program through the conclusion of the 1999 school year. The three school districts studied did not respond to competition by emphasizing productivity or efficiency. Instead, under pressure to provide some evidence of response, administrators tended to expand public relations efforts and to chip holes in the rules, regulations, and procedures that regulate public sector organizations. Inefficient practices were not rooted out, but some rules and procedures that protect employees and vocal constituencies were relaxed. Public school systems are driven by political logic, according to Hess, and their incentives lead them to respond generally through symbolic and metaphorical gestures. Choice-induced changes in public school systems will be shaped by public governance, the market context in which they operate, and their organizational characteristics. Revolution at the Margins encourages scholars and policymakers to think more carefully about the costs and benefits of educational competi

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300

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

0815798571

ISBN 13

9780815798576

Breakthrough Leadership in the Digital Age

By: Frederick M. Hess,Bror Saxberg

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Breakthrough Leadership in the Digital Age

By: Frederick M. Hess,Bror Saxberg

“By deconstructing learning science and making the connection to technology, Hess and Saxberg have outlined key strategies for school leaders as they work to transform traditional practices in schools. Whether it is whole-school reform or targeted interventions, principals will be motivated to rethink or‘re-engineer’ the use of technology to optimize teaching and learning.” —Gail Connelly, Executive Director National Association of Elementary School Principals.

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217

Publisher

Corwin Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1452255490

ISBN 13

9781452255491

The Cage-Busting Teacher

By: Frederick M. Hess

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The Cage-Busting Teacher

By: Frederick M. Hess

The Cage-Busting Teacher adopts the logic of Cage-Busting Leadership and applies it to the unique challenges and opportunities of classroom teachers. Detailed, accessible, and thoroughly engaging, it uncovers the many ways in which teachers can break out of familiar constraints in order to influence school and classroom practice, education policy, and school reform. “Cage-busting is concrete, precise, andpractical,” writes Frederick M. Hess. This invaluable book helps teachers understand why and how to revisit their assumptions and enables them to have greater impacts upon their schools and beyond. Based on interviews with hundreds of teachers, teacher advocates, union leaders, and others, Hess identifies the challenges teachers face, seeks concrete and workable solutions, and offers recommendations to put those solutions in place. A uniquely practical and inspiring book, The Cage-Busting Teacher is for educators who want to shape the schools and systems in which they work.

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358

Publisher

Harvard Education Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1612507786

ISBN 13

9781612507781

Cage-Busting Leadership

By: Frederick M. Hess

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Cage-Busting Leadership

By: Frederick M. Hess

A practical and entertaining volume, Cage-Busting Leadership will be of profound interest and value to school and district leaders—and to everyone with a stake in school improvement. Rick Hess aptly describes his aims at the start of this provocative book: "I believe that two things are true. It is true, as would-be reformers often argue, that statutes, policies, rules, regulations, contracts, and case law make it tougher than it should be for school and system leaders to drive improvement and, well, lead. However, it is also the case that leaders have far more freedom to transform, reimagine, and invigorate teaching, learning, and schooling than is widely believed.” In his travels across the country, Rick Hess has met school and system leaders who have shared stories about evading, blasting through, or reshaping unnecessary and counterproductive constraints. Drawing on these stories, and with his sharp eye, Hess shows current and aspiring leaders how they can cultivate and sustain powerful cultures of teaching and learning.

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385

Publisher

Harvard Education Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1612505082

ISBN 13

9781612505084

The Great School Rethink

By: Frederick M. Hess

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The Great School Rethink

By: Frederick M. Hess

An invigorating examination of the potential for meaningful change in education, from one of the nation's most astute observers of schooling and school improvement. In The Great School Rethink, education policy sentinel Frederick M. Hess offers a pithy and perceptive appraisal of American schooling and finds, in the uncertain period following pandemic disruption, an ideal moment to reimagine US education. Now is the time, he asserts, to ask hard questions about how schools use time and talent, how they work with parents, what they do with digital tools, and how they meet the needs of their communities. As Hess explains, to rethink is to acknowledge the realities of the education system while opening one’s mind to possibility. With characteristic verve and wit, Hess guides readers through his rethink process, a versatile and easily implemented approach to identifying issues and brainstorming possible responses. He encourages readers to explore what improvements might alleviate current pressures and frustrations, such as teacher shortages and burnout, declining student performance, and compromised learning time. Whether their goal is to achieve better student engagement, increase parent involvement, or implement personalized learning, readers will develop the mindset to ask the right questions, to fully understand the problem that’s being solved, and to evaluate the probable effectiveness of proposed solutions. Brimming with challenging questions, robust exercises, and eye-opening data, this book is a must-read for education professionals, parent advocates, and anyone passionate about the future of American education.

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210

Publisher

Harvard Education Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1682538117

ISBN 13

9781682538111

Common Core Meets Education Reform

What It All Means for Politics, Policy, and the Future of Schooling

By: Frederick M. Hess,Michael Q. McShane

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Common Core Meets Education Reform

What It All Means for Politics, Policy, and the Future of Schooling

By: Frederick M. Hess,Michael Q. McShane

How can the Common Core complement and not conflict with school improvement efforts already at work across the United States? How can it be seamlessly integrated into accountability systems, teacher preparation and development, charter schools, and educational technology? This timely volume brings together prominent scholars and policy analysts to examine the pressing issues that will mark Common Core implementation. Whether or not you agree with the standards, the Common Core is coming, and this book will help policymakers, practitioners, and other stakeholders anticipate the challenges and take steps to address them. “Common Core Meets Education Reform raises the hard questions about implementing and sustaining the Common Core State Standards so they don’t end up in the dustbin of abandoned public education reforms. These new standards can help students enormously in becoming problem solvers and critical thinkers—which is essential in the 21st century—but only if teachers become engaged in the rollout, get the support they need, and the fixation on high-stakes testing gives way to a fixation on learning.” —Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers “Adopting the Common Core in a mad dash for federal gold, policymakers across the country blew right past critical questions about how they’d implement the thing. This volume, in stark contrast, meticulously studies the road ahead, seeking out tripwires, pitfalls, and boulders, making it a must-read for anyone who hopes to avoid total Common Core disaster.” —Neal McCluskey, associate director, Center for Educational Freedom, Cato Institute, Washington, DC “This balanced, wide-ranging, and deeply informed book is certain to guide educators and reformers through a complex time of transition for U.S. education. But it also turns out to be timely and clarifying as politicians battle over ambitious new academic standards with plenty of heat and smoke but appallingly little illumination. Thanks to the authors for turning on some lights!” —Chester E. Finn, Jr., senior fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University and president, Thomas B. Fordham Institute Frederick M. Hess is director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and serves as executive editor of Education Next. Michael Q. McShane is a research fellow in education policy studies at AEI.

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241

Publisher

Teachers College Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807772844

ISBN 13

9780807772843

Blueprint for School System Transformation

A Vision for Comprehensive Reform in Milwaukee and Beyond

By: Frederick Hess, author of Letters to a Young Education Reformer; director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute,Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj

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Blueprint for School System Transformation

A Vision for Comprehensive Reform in Milwaukee and Beyond

By: Frederick Hess, author of Letters to a Young Education Reformer; director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute,Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj

In this volume, a team of national experts address the major elements key to system redesign and long-lasting reform, describing in detail the steps needed at the community, school, district and state-level by which to achieve long-lasting reform.

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Page Count

166

Publisher

R&L Education

Published Date

ISBN 10

1475804709

ISBN 13

9781475804706

Urban School Reform

Lessons from San Diego

By: Frederick M. Hess

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Urban School Reform

Lessons from San Diego

By: Frederick M. Hess

An indispensable book for administrators, policymakers, scholars, and practitioners, Urban School Reform presents a revealing portrait of reform efforts while identifying the full range of issues that education reformers will need to address in districts across the country in the years ahead. Today's urban school reformers face a bewildering array of challenges. Urgent problems pertaining to governance, management, labor relations, classroom instruction, and numerous other areas face those who wish to reform and improve urban schools. Having undergone one of the nation's most comprehensive school reform efforts in recent years, San Diego has been a site of nationwide interest--one that is uncommonly well suited to learning about the challenges facing all reformers. This timely book addresses the full range of critical issues pertaining to urban school reform by looking closely at the recent reform efforts in San Diego. In essays by an impressive gathering of scholars and practitioners from across the country, the book considers crucial dimensions of reform efforts in the San Diego schools, including performance, governance, the external environment, central leadership and management, district infrastructure, support services, and school-level instructional efforts. The result is a full-scale assessment of San Diego's reform efforts--a record of unmistakable relevance and value to other urban reform movements throughout the United States.

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366

Publisher

Harvard Education Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1612500757

ISBN 13

9781612500751

School Choice In The Real World

Lessons From Arizona Charter Schools

By: Robert Maranto,Scott Milliman,Frederick Hess,April Gresham

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School Choice In The Real World

Lessons From Arizona Charter Schools

By: Robert Maranto,Scott Milliman,Frederick Hess,April Gresham

School choice is the most talked about reform of American public education, yet writings about choice remain highly speculative because no state has adopted a free market approach to education--until now. The charter school is fast becoming one of the most significant attempts at public education reform in this country. Over 1100 charter schools operate in twenty-seven states, with several hundred more to be added in the next two years. School Choice in the Real World looks at the charter school movement through a highly focused lens: it examines charter schools in Arizona, which currently account for nearly one-quarter of all charter schools.Since 1994, Arizona has implemented a charter school law with the lowest barriers to entry in the nation. As a result, Arizona has more than 200 charter school campuses. Some districts have even lost more than 10% of their students to charter schools. Using the state of Arizona as a case study, the editors examine the experiences of actual charter school operators, social scientific analysis, policy discussions, and criticism and forecasting for the future. The editors bring together academics, policy-makers, and practicioners, and they explain and evaluate how school choice works in the real world.

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