REFORMING THE SCHOOL REFORMERS: The New York Times Magazine's Paul Tough questions the value of school reform. "So why are some reformers resorting to excuses­? Most likely for the same reason that urban educators from an earlier generation made excuses: successfully educating large numbers of low-income kids is very, very hard. But it is not impossible, as reformers have repeatedly demonstrated on a small scale. To achieve systemwide success, though, we need a shift in strategy."

AN OPPOSING ARGUMENT: Two contributors to the Weekly Standard present another view of the situation, praising Obama and Bush for their respective stances on reforming education. In the end, though, they're skeptical of how much change can come from politics. "But we’ve got a long way to go on this front, and the past couple of years have reminded us that breakthrough change won’t come from Washington. It will come from our states, our communities, and our parents. We’ve also learned that, at the end of the day, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and other Democrats will go only so far in crossing their pals and donors in the teachers’ unions. While they may talk the talk, how they walk​—​and especially how they spend taxpayers’ hard earned dollars​ —​reveal far more about their priorities and their loyalties."