Bonnie C. Fusarelli & Bruce S. Cooper 
The Rising State 
How State Power is Transforming Our Nation’s Schools

State and national policymakers are increasingly important in shaping the nature, scope, and direction of education initiatives, resulting in the erosion of local control. The Rising State weaves together leading national experts’ perspectives that focus on equity, comparative differences in state educational policies, agenda setting, and the nationalization of education policy. The contributors provide policymakers, teachers, administrators, parents, and the general public with an opportunity and means to understand the success and failure of the growth of state power and centralization of control of education in the United States and offer forecasts for future developments.

Table of Content

List of Figures and Tables



Foreword by
Michael W. Kirstix



1. Setting the Stage: Where State Power and Education Meet


Bruce S. Cooper and Bonnie C. Fusarelli




Part I. State Case Studies



2. California


Lawrence O. Picus



3. Kentucky


Tricia Browne-Ferrigno



4. New Jersey


Bruce S. Cooper and Philip H. Nisonoff



5. New York


Sandra Vergari



6. Texas


Brendan D. Maxcy, Andrea K. Rorrer, and  Enrique Aleman, Jr.



7. Kansas


Bruce D. Baker and Preston C. Green




Part II. Comparative and National Trends



8. The Roots of Difference in State Educational Policy


Karen Seashore, Molly Gordon, Judy Meath, and Emanda Thomas



9. State Power and Equity


Kevin P. Brady



10. The Incremental Revolution: Nationalizing Education Accountability Policy


Kathryn A. Mc Dermott and Elizabeth De Bray-Pelot



11. Reading from the Top: State Impact on Reading Curriculum and Instruction


Mengli Song




Part III. Trends and Conclusions



12. Improvement or Interference?: Reenvisioning the “State” in Education Reform


Lance D. Fusarelli



List of Contributors

Index

About the author

Bonnie C. Fusarelli is Assistant Professor of Education at North Carolina State University.
Bruce S. Cooper is Professor of Education Leadership and Policy at Fordham University and the author and editor of many books, including
Better Policies, Better Schools: Theories and Applications, coedited with Lance D. Fusarelli and E. Vance Randall.