The Federal Role in Education

What lessons have been learned from the past half-century of federal involvement in education? What role, if any, is the federal government suited for in the formulation and implementation of education policy? The following essays, which have been adapted for Education Week from the recently published book Carrots, Sticks, and the Bully Pulpit (Harvard Education Press, 2011), seek to answer those questions, among others. Writers from the five-part Commentary series include Charles Barone, Larry Berger, Chester E. Finn Jr., Andrew Rudalevige, and Marshall S. Smith.