The Right to Learn

Winner of AERA Outstanding Book Award in 1998 "While she recognizes the necessity for school reform and the complexity of implementing it, Darling-Hammond remains optimistic that systemic changes to ensure access to a meaningful education for all children are possible. Her book is positive and hopeful and serves as a fascinating account of American education and its promise of 'the right to learn' for all children." —Washington Post "Darling-Hammond's central claim is well worth listening to. She argues that American students do so poorly by comparison with students in other industrialized countries not because we don't give them enough work, but because our teaching is less thoughtful, and because we are obsessed with bureaucratic processes rather than educational outcomes." —New York Times Book Review One of the nation's most respected educators provides a vision of exceptional, learner-centered schools and describes the policies and practices that are needed to create these schools on a system-wide basis.

Preface Acknowledgments The Author 1 The Right to Learn 1 2 The Limits of the Education Bureaucracy 37 3 What Matters for Teaching 69 4 Teaching and Learning for Understanding 96 5 Structuring Learner-Centered Schools 148 6 Staffing Schools for Teaching and Learning 177 7 Creating Standards Without Standardization 210 8 Ensuring Access to Knowledge 261 9 Building a Democratic Profession of Teaching 293 10 Conclusion: An Agenda for Re-Creating Public Education 330 References 339 Name Index 377 Subject Index 385