Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand:

  • what the No Child Left Behind Act requires and why it is so controversial
  • the education reform movements of the 1980s
  • who the primary actors are concerning education policy
  • the debates in regard to property taxes and school funding
  • the “standards movement” of the 1990s
  • the educational alternatives to public schools
  • the difference between teachers unions and parents’ groups