Philanthropy

Annenberg Challenged: Walter H. Annenberg's $500 million gift to public education has failed to produce large-scale results, a report from the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation contends, because it is difficult "to achieve systemic reform from within using money from without."

The 60-page report, released this month by the Washington-based research and advocacy organization, examines three of the 18 projects—in Chicago, New York City, and Philadelphia—financed by the Annenberg Challenge. The large-scale grants are aimed at turning around education in disadvantaged urban and rural communities with help from...