Challenge to American Schools: The Case for Standards and Values

In this provocative volume, such noted authorities as Nathan Glazer, Diane Ravitch, Joseph Adelson, Chester E. Finn, Jr., and Martin Trow probe the troubling issues that have stirred a firestorm of controversy around our public school system.
These eleven original essays share the premise that past ideas--particularly the notion that everyone should go to school to become good and productive citizens--have not been proven wrong but are insufficient to the demands of the 1980s. The contributors bring their diverse perspectives expertise to bear on such questions as: How should we implement strategies for educational reform? What should curriculums include and to whom should they be taught? Are teachers' unionism and high educational standards incompatible? What does the growth of private schooling mean for education as a whole? How has federal court intervention damaged or enhanced education? What produces schools with good climates for learning? What is the family's role in public education? How have colleges and universities responded to the problem of underprepared students? How should the issue of educational standards and ethnic-racial factors be addressed?
Lucid and penetrating, these reassessments contribute valuable new insights to a vitally important national debate.