Choice Review

When a nation is at risk, from what databases do those who make decisions and formulate educational policy operate? Education and American Youth is a concise compilation and analysis of the most salient studies of secondary education over the past 25 years. The major problems confronting educational policy-makers are identified as the achievement of excellence, assurement of equity, and the encouragement of choice and diversity among the public, private, and Catholic sectors. The design of the study draws on nearly 25 years of research by sociologists, economists, social psychologists, and educational researchers, who examine the relationship between school and student characteristics and educational achievement. The work is concerned with the perennial debate over the relative influence of four groups of variables: student demographics, the home support system, student school experiences, and school resources and processes on school achievement. This work parallels much of the data presented in James S. Coleman's Public and Private High Schools (CH, Jan '88) and High School Achievement by James S. Coleman et al. (CH, Feb '83). Inclusion of 141 excellent tables with commentary makes this a useful library resource for graduate students in educational administration and policy-making. C. L. Smith University of Kentucky