A decade ago, Milwaukee was regarded as one of the nation's iconic cities when it came to school reform. It can be that way again.

Driving excellent teaching and learning across schools necessitates considering how districts can be best structured to help schools meet unique student needs while maintaining alignment and system coherence.

At this AEI conference, panelists will present the results of their research and thoughts on the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and provide actionable responses to the questions that will mark the next phase of Common Core implementation efforts.

AEI's Frederick M. Hess and Michael Q. McShane have commissioned eight papers that address the complements and conflicts assciated with this state-driven initiative and provide actionable responses to the questions that will mark the next phase of Common Core implementation efforts.

In his first term, President Obama pushed bold K–12 education reforms. As he begins a second term, it is worth examining how the federal government can reform education in America. Washington has effectively ensured constitutional protections in education and has given states and districts incentives for policy changes but has not enforced mandates nor fixed inadequate schools.

I’m not at all sure that standards and funding should differ by state, but we’d do well to acknowledge that there may be unanticipated, adverse consequences when we seek to prohibit such variation.

Despite nearly 30 years of K–12 education reform efforts, America ranks 14th in reading, 17th in science, and 25th in math. Substantial reform is possible if reformers craft a longer-term strategy to alter the core structure of American schooling.

When the CTU opted in early September to strike rather than continue negotiating, it seemed a golden opportunity for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to prove that reform-minded Democrats can face down their union allies. Yet, despite a strong opening hand, Emanuel wound up with precious little.

President Obama has moved the left flank of the US education debate toward embracing more dramatic reforms, and he has moreover challenged common assumptions about reformers and what they hope to accomplish. The education tides are turning.

The CTU has opted to strike. In doing so, it has larded its list of grievances with a slew of petty concerns (including complaints about air conditioning and an insistence that teachers from shuttered schools be hired back without regard to job performance). The stakes in all this couldn't be higher: for teacher unions, for Democratic education reformers and for President Obama.