The Century Foundation - Taking Note

Opening School Choice to the Suburbs

Richard D. Kahlenberg, The Century Foundation, 8/27/2008
One of the big problems with the No Child Left Behind Act is its failure to deliver on the promise to allow kids in low-performing schools to transfer to better performing institutions. Only about 1% of students transfer under the Act�s provisions, in part because in many urban districts, there are very few good schools to transfer into.

Conventional Wisdom

Richard C. Leone, The Century Foundation, 8/27/2008
Starting in 1948, our national political conventions began their long evolution into televised spectaculars. For a couple of decades, coverage expanded to engulf prime time on almost all the television stations then available to Americans. Conventions mattered because they were a major part of the shared experience of voters during the presidential campaign season. That doesn�t mean convention success translated into Election Day outcomes. For example, one of the most effective conventions of the past forty years � the Democratic assembly in San Francisco in 1984 � occurred as the nominee was headed to a landslide defeat by Ronald Reagan. Still, that national experience affected voters in the short run, with Walter Mondale briefly holding his only lead over the incumbent president in post-convention national polling.

Lessons from Massachusetts

Niko Karvounis, The Century Foundation, 8/26/2008
The Massachusetts experiment in health care reform is all about expanding access. But it doesn�t try to control costs. This, in a nutshell, is why it�s running into trouble. The plan didn�t reform health care delivery, just coverage. Granted, in terms of bringing more people in under the tent, it�s been a success: Since the plan went into effect in 2006, 439,000 people have signed up for insurance�a number that represents more than two-thirds of the estimated 600,000 people uninsured in the state two years ago.

The Platform: Hot Books

Peter Osnos, The Century Foundation, 8/26/2008
As summer winds down, books have been making cheesy news. Here is a take on three controversies, unrelated but sharing this characteristic: positions on all sides have been notably self-righteous and/or disingenuous, overwhelming the principles at stake�and they are real�with explanations that fall well short of impressive.

There Are Better Options

Daniel Levy, The Century Foundation, 8/25/2008
Israel's response to the Iranian challenge has been out of synch with developing realities for some time. Recently though, it has become dangerously counter-productive, anchored as it is in denial. As Israel intensifies its role as threatener-in-chief, and clings to a "more sticks, bigger sticks" line, events all around are moving on.