No Adult Left Behind : How Politics Hijacks Education Policy and Hurts Kids

This book argues that local democratic control of public education is a key reason so many American students struggle academically. It draws on qualitative and quantitative analysis, existing theory and research, historical cases, and current debates to provide a definitive analysis of the adult interests that influence modern education politics.

For decades, Americans have debated why our students consistently score lower than their peers in other developed countries. While most debates have focused on school spending, curriculum, teacher quality, and teachers' unions, No Adult Left Behind argues that local democratic control is the root of the problem. Elected school boards govern local school districts, but only adults vote in local elections – most of whom don't have children or care about academics. This leads to educational debates that are centered around issues that adults care most about, such as partisanship, identity politics, property values, and employment concerns, while the needs of students get left behind. In identifying the misalignment between the interests of school children and the political and policy agendas of the adults who control education, No Adult Left Behind stands to become a landmark study on modern education politics.