In statehouses, school boards, and communities across the US, battles are raging over the direction of education policy – from the standards that are shaping what students learn to how test results are being used to judge a teacher’s performance. What’s more, the COVID-19 pandemic is prompting educators to rethink the school’s mission in society.

In The Education Debate, nationally recognized education authority David Kirp and Kevin Macpherson provide a balanced, accessible overview of the key policy and practice issues in pre k-12 education today. They expose the fault lines of the major debates – what values should guide education and how can those values best be incorporated in policy and practice. They focus on equity and equality of opportunity, as well as the tension between market and bureaucratic mechanisms as drivers of school improvement. Many of the topics they address, including racial integration, charter schools, student rights and teachers’ unions, are hotly contested.