Description
Book SynopsisCuban takes a richly detailed history of the Austin, Texas, school district, under Superintendent Pat Forgione, to ask the question that few politicians and school reformers want to touch: given effective use of widely welcomed reforms, can school policies and practices put all children at the same academic level?
Trade ReviewCuban is always great--and this is a marvelously level-headed and gripping account of a school reform process we know all too well, told with sympathy for everyone involved. Reminding us how uncertain our certainties often are, Cuban prods, provokes, and teaches. -- Deborah Meier, author of
Many Children Left Behind: How No Child Left Behind is Damaging Our Children and Our SchoolsAs Good As It Gets is a gem that only Larry Cuban could write. A personal, provocative rumination on Pat Forgione's decorated, decade-long tenure in Austin, it draws on both Cuban's "been-there" savvy and his scholarly acumen. With a title intended as a wry observation rather than a celebratory one, Cuban explores both what Austin has done right and why it has so far to go. Studded with smart observations regarding history, race, politics, leadership, and accountability, this is a book that will long echo with those seeking to reform American education. -- Frederick M. Hess, Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute
Table of Contents* Introduction * The Past Is Never Dead: School Reform, 1950-2000 * Turning Chaos into Stability, 1990-2009 * Reinventing the High School * Assessing Austin Leadership and Reforms * The Future of Austin Reform and Three-Tiered Schooling * Urban District Reform Strategies, Common Errors and Assumptions * What Can Be Done? * Acknowledgments * Appendices
