Leave No City Behind

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

Picture a city school colored by multiple languages and one overriding mandate—to ensure that every child achieves basic literacy. Could be England. Or it might be the United States. Both countries initiated ambitious standards-based education reform to eliminate large gaps between their highest and lowest achievers. England appears to be ahead, having started in 1988 with a national curriculum, tests, and performance tables. The United States' No Child Left Behind Act began rewriting state rules in 2002 with more incentives and punitive measures aimed at school performance. Yet, the United States remains a federation of 50 different school systems—albeit, each one a fertile laboratory for experimentation. The U.K. system mandates common standards and tests across the country, but allows head teachers broad budgetary discretion over such matters as staff size and composition. Unlike their U.S. counterparts, these head teachers can swiftly weed out poor educators. Issues of equity and diversity still haunt both reform efforts, especially in urban areas, where many social problems complicate educators' ability to reach the lowest achieving students.

Viewing the contrasts as opportunity, educators and policymakers from each side of the Atlantic gathered in Philadelphia in mid-October for the second half of a dialogue on urban education. Conference sponsors included the British Embassy, the Department for Education and Skills in London, the Londonbased Institute for Public Policy Research, Temple University, and the Urban Institute. As talk moved to action, participants planned such follow-up activities as sending a delegation of principals and teachers from Georgia to English schools and creating a New York City school with British educators. With communication channels opened, possibilities seemed endless for comparing and analyzing data on education reforms. Inevitably too, all agreed, the education dialogue should expand to more countries.

Note: This report is available in its entirety in the Portable Document Format (PDF).

The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.

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