The Editors: Kenneth K. Wong is the first Walter and Leonore Annenberg Professor for Education Policy and Professor of Education at Brown University. He is Chair of the Education Department and Director of the Master’s in Urban Education Policy Program and is Professor of Education, Political Science, and Public Policy. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.Robert Rothman is Senior Editor at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University and the editor of its quarterly journal, Voices in Urban Education. He was the editor of City Schools: How Districts and Communities Can Create Smart Education Systems. He received a B.A. from Yale University.

«This broad-ranging collection of essays admirably fulfills its goals: to explore the connections between the discipline of history and the practices and problems of policymaking concerning American education. It will appeal greatly to scholars and practitioners alike.» (James T. Patterson, Professor Emeritus of History, Brown University)«This is an exceptionally valuable collection, combining essays by a select group of education historians who are unusually attuned to the contemporary policy scene and essays by scholars of contemporary education policy who are unusually informed about historical trends.» (Jeffrey R. Henig, Author of ‘Spin Cycle: How Research is Used in Policy Debates: The Case of Charter Schools’)«No one contemplating the virtues or perils of proposed education reforms should proceed in a historical vacuum. And anyone wanting solid evidence of how good historical scholarship can enrich contemporary debates should start with this volume, which honors one of the great statesmen of American education history.» (Michael J. Feuer, Executive Director, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.)

• Contents: Kenneth K. Wong/Robert Rothman: Bringing Clio to the Table – Anne-Lise Halvorsen/Jeffrey E. Mirel: Educating Citizens: Social Problems Meet Progressive Education in Detroit, 1930-52 – John L. Rury: Attainment amidst Adversity: Black High School Students in the Metropolitan North, 1940-80 – William J. Reese: When Wisdom Was Better Than Rubies: The Public Schools of Washington, DC, in the Nineteenth Century – David Gamson: Democracy Undone: Reforming and Reinventing the American School District, 1945-2005 – Kathryn A. McDermott: Growing State Intervention in Low-Performing Schools: Law and Regulation in Three Waves of Reform – Elizabeth Rose: Learning from Head Start: Preschool Advocates and the Lessons of History – Elizabeth DeBray-Pelot: Education Interest Groups and Policy Agendas in the 109th and 110th Congresses: Applying an Advocacy Coalition Framework – Adam R. Nelson: Equity and Special Education: Some Historical Lessons from Boston – Gail L. Sunderman: Examining the Federal Role in Education: From Reagan’s Excellence Movement to Bush and No Child Left Behind – Margaret E. Goertz: Standards-Based Reform: Lessons from the Past, Directions for the Future – Maris A. Vinovskis: No Child Left Behind and Highly Qualified U.S. History Teachers: Some Historical and Policy Perspectives – Jack Dougherty: Conflicting Questions: Why Historians and Policymakers Miscommunicate on Urban Education – Tracy L. Steffes: Lessons from the Past: A Challenge and a Caution for Policy-Relevant History – Carl F. Kaestle: Clio at the Table: Historical Perspectives and Policymaking in the Field of Education.