Powerful Reforms with Shallow Roots: Improving America's Urban Schools

Drastic reform measures are being implemented in growing numbers of urban communities as the public’s patience has finally run out with perpetually nonperforming public schools. This authoritative and eye-opening volume examines governance changes in six cities during the 1990s, where either mayoral control of schools has occurred or where noneducators have been appointed to lead school districts. Featuring up-close, in-depth case studies of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Boston, San Diego, and Seattle, this book explores the reasons why these cities chose to alter their traditional school governance structures and analyzes what happened when the reforms were implemented and whether or not teachers and students performed better because of them.

Larry Cuban is Professor Emeritus of Education at Stanford University and Michael Usdan is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, D.C., where he served as the organization's president for 20 years.