Achievement

Few States Set World-Class Standards: In fact, most render the notion of proficiency meaningless. Frederick Hess, Paul E. Peterson. Education Next, 8(3), 70-73. 2008.
Schools and the Equal Opportunity Problem. Ludger Woessmann, Paul Peterson. The MIT Press, 344 pages. 2007.

Much educational research today is focused on assessing reforms that are intended to create equal opportunity for all students. Many current policies aim at concentrating extra resources on the disadvantaged. The state-of-the-art research in Schools and the Equal Opportunity Problem suggests, however, that even sizeable differential spending on the disadvantaged will not yield an equality of results.

Generational Change: Closing the Test Score Gap. Paul Peterson. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 224 pages. 2005.

In the 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger University of Michigan Law School affirmative action case, Sandra Day O'Connor declared on behalf of the majority of justices that, 'We expect that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary.'

Earning and Learning: How Schools Matter. Susan Mayer, Paul Peterson. Brookings Institution Press, 365 pages. 1999.

The essays in this book report estimates of the effects of learning on earnings and other life outcomes. They also examine whether particular aspects of schooling - such as the age at which children begin school, classroom size and curriculum - or structural reform - such as national or state-wide examinations or school choice - affect learning. Taken together, their findings suggest that liberals are correct in saying that more investment is needed in early education, that class sizes should be further reduced, and that challenging national or state standards should also be established.

What Do the Test Scores Tell Us. Paul Peterson. Policy Review, 10-15. January-February 1999.
School Reforms: How Much Do They Matter?. Paul PetersonIn Paul E. Peterson and Susan Mayer, Eds.. Earning and Learning: How Schools Matter. Brookings Institution Press. 1999.
Economic and Political Trends Affecting Education. Paul PetersonIn Ron Haskins and Duncan MacRae, Eds.. Policies for America's Public Schools. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex, 25-54. 1988.