to State Curriculum Reform. Sociology of Education

In the past decade, states have taken an increasingly active role in designing new policies intended to reform America's high schools. This book offers a systematic, empirical look at the most widely adopted policy reform strategy--mandatory changes in high school graduation requirements. Maryland is used as a case study, exploring five representative high schools and presenting an in-depth discussion of their experiences with mandated reform. The first of eight chapters, Chapter 1, "Introduction, " sets the context and the research strategy. Chapter 2, "The Role of the States in the Reform Movement of the 1980s, " deals with research on graduation requirements and tracking. Chapter 3, "Where's the Action? Students, Teachers, and the Curriculum, " looks at student credits and courses