In Challenging the One Best System, a team of leading education scholars offers a rich comparative analysis of the set of urban education governance reforms collectively known as the 'portfolio management model.' They investigate the degree to which this model-a system of schools operating under different types of governance and with different degrees of autonomy-challenges the standard structure of district governance famously characterized by David Tyack as 'the one best system.' The authors examine the design and enactment of the portfolio management model in three major cities: New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Denver. They identify the five interlocking mechanisms at the core of the model-planning and oversight, choice, autonomy, human capital, and school supports-and show how these are implemented differently in each city. Using rich qualitative data from extensive interviews, the authors trace the internal tensions and tradeoffs that characterize these systems and highlight the influence of historical and contextual factors as well. Most importantly, they question whether the portfolio management model represents a fundamental restructuring of education governance or more incremental change, and whether it points in the direction of meaningful improvement in school practices. Drawing on a rigorous, multimethod study, Challenging the One Best System represents a significant contribution to our understanding of system-level change in education.

Reports an evaluation of Edison Schools, the nation's largest for-profit manager of public schools. RAND analyzed Edison's school improvement strategies, the implementation of those strategies, and effects on student achievement. In 2000, Edison Schools, the nation's largest education management organization, asked RAND to analyze its achievement outcomes and design implementation. RAND evaluated Edison's strategies for promoting student achievement in its schools, how it implemented those strategies, how its management affected student achievement, and what factors explained differences in achievement trends among its schools.

The goals of the joint medical education and training campus (METC) at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, are to become a high-performing organization and seek accreditation. Models and approaches adopted by institutions with similar missions such as community colleges, corporate universities, METC s UK counterpart, and other federal agencies illustrate the need for an office of institutional research to assist METC in attaining its organizational goals.