Hammack has gathered a distinguished group to assess current reform efforts in their sociological and historical context, taking into account the vision of James B. Conanat, the major proponent of the comprehensive high schools. Contributors are: Mary Erina Driscoll, Joseph P. McDonald, Jeannie Oakes, John L. Rury, Roger Shouse, Amy Suart Wells.

This book traces the decline of the public comprehensive high school. New educational markets emphasized school diversity and parental choice rather than social equity through common schooling, and they were criticized for declining standards. The book also considers government education policies and their regional manifestations.

The Comprehensive School: Guidelines for the Reorganization of Secondary Education focuses on the main issues basic to the reform of secondary education as part of the move toward comprehensivization in schools. These issues concern the less able and the culturally disadvantaged children; the streaming/non-streaming controversy; guidance and counseling; and the curriculum. This book has 10 chapters; the first of which provides an overview of the comprehensive movement in education and the concept of the common school, as well as the effects of reorganization on academic standards. The discussion then turns to the controversy concerning streaming and non-streaming in the comprehensive school; how to educate at the secondary level children who are less able and/or are culturally deprived; and the importance of vocational guidance and counseling. The chapters that follow explore issues associated with the curriculum and general school policy in the light of the school's aims and its function in society; the problem of size of school; and the nature and scope of secondary school curriculum. This book concludes by assessing the relative advantages and disadvantages of different types of reorganized school. Educators and policymakers with an interest in comprehensive education will find this book extremely helpful.

The basic blueprint of American high schools hasn't changed in a century, and we are paying a heavy price. Anonymous, enormous, and resistant to change, huge American high schools are incapable of educating all children to high levels today, as dropout rates and remedial courses in college make increasingly clear. High Schools on a Human Scale shows the huge power of small schools, perhaps the nation's fastest- growing reform idea. Tom Toch takes us inside four very different small schools around the country-from an entrepreneur's high-tech charter school in San Diego to a school formed out the of the breakup of a huge public high school in Manhattan. All are small enough so that every student is known well by adults, and the results are remarkable. Together they show the proven virtues of small schools-safety, community, and high achievement. This book is sponsored in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's $40 million effort to support small schools nationwide.

Traces the development of the comprehensive high school model in the US, evaluating the influence of sociopolitical forces on - and historical interpretations of - the model. He assesses the impact of successive reform movements and offers recommendations for enhancing its effectiveness.