If education philanthropists want to influence policy, then they must open themselves to more public debate about their  plans and goals.

In his new book, The Same Thing Over and Over (Harvard University Press, November 2010), AEI director of education policy studies Frederick M. Hess explains that American schools have not changed since the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and, as a result, are ill-suited to meet today's challenges.

Normally, we expect to get thanked when giving a few bucks to a good cause. When it comes to K-12 schooling, though, folks giving away millions have been slammed for their trouble.

Steven Brill’s Class Warfare is an immensely readable take on a slice of the “school reform” movement and an intriguing look at some key individuals in that effort. But, as is shown by its treatment of philanthropy, the book is perhaps more revealing for what its author omits—and how its blinkered view can mislead readers on big questions.

What role does philanthropy play in K-12 education? How much private funding is devoted to public education? What roles have philanthropists played in advancing reform? What are the challenges facing foundations that want to contribute to K-12 education? These questions were the focus of an AEI conference in April of...

Despite the lack of rigorous research on the subject, reform proposals to reduce school size are quite popular these days. What does the best evidence say about the benefits of small schools? This event will feature Christopher Berry of the University of Chicago and Martin West of Harvard University, who...

The world's poor do not have the luxury to play the ideological games that dominate Western politics and consign the malnourished to lives of hunger.

Hispanic students generally graduate at lower rates than their white peers, even among schools with similar admissions standards.