Meeting the basic educational needs of children and youth

This article examines policies and programs designed to meet the basic educational needs of American children and youth, with an emphasis on promoting cognitive skill development through K-12 schooling. Building on an appraisal of the weak technology for promoting cognitive development and the lack of a robust research literature on what works, I examine patterns in educational achievement across the nation, and their association with students' social characteristics, and follow with an assessment of the standing of the U.S. in international perspective. I then consider the federal role in K-12 education, particularly the legacy of the No Child Left Behind Act, and subsequent concerns with increasing teacher capacity and system-changing via increased school choice. Because these policy strategies lack a powerful theory of teaching and learning, their potential for enhancing student achievement remains more a matter of faith than of certainty.