Kathryn A Mcdermott
Biographic Data
| ID | 1379780 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kathryn A Mcdermott |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kathryn A |
| FAMILY NAME | Mcdermott |
| SIGNATURE | MCDERMOTT K A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1730-7175 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 54 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Eroding Integration
Drawing on Boddie’s adaptive discrimination framework, this article analyzes changes in demographic trends from 2002–2021. Our findings reveal a continuation of several longstanding trends, including increased racial/ethnic diversity in public school enrollment; deepening racial isolation within districts; persistent, high isolation for Black students; high but declining isolation for white students; growing isolation for Hispanic and Asian stude…
Deliberating across difference
Dialogue, listening, and compromise are essential elements of living in a democracy. In a highly partisan time, is it possible to reestablish common ground when it comes to how best to educate our children in and for democracy? Authors Brendan Sheran, Ashley Carey, Jack Schneider, Rebecca Woodland, and Kathryn McDermott, who are affiliated with Center for Education Policy (CEP) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, outline a process called …
Small advances and swift retreat
The three terms comprising the Obama and Trump presidencies provide an opportunity to understand the evolution of race-conscious education policy in an increasingly multiracial, unequal, and divided society. Through document review and interviews with civil rights lawyers, government officials, congressional staffers, and intermediary organization personnel, we sought to understand how Obama officials envisioned and changed the role of the federa…
The Politics of Covid-19 and Educational Inequities
The articles in this issue examine and document the emerging politics of education in the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on its present and future consequences for equity and social justice. It brings together education politics and policy perspectives on the PK-16 education system’s initial responses to the COVID-19 emergency. The articles in this issue provide insight into how the first year of the pandemic affected education, with …
Quality, Close to Home” and Invisible Zero-Sum Politics
In 2013, the Boston Public Schools (BPS) adopted the Home-Based Student Assignment Policy (HBSAP), which replaced elementary and middle-school choice within three large geographic zones with an algorithm that generates a choice basket of schools for each address based on proximity to the student’s home and a guarantee that all baskets will include at least four schools in the top two state test-score quartiles of BPS. Adoption of HBSAP broke a lo…
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act at Fifty
David A. Gamson, Kathryn A. McDermott, Douglas S. Reed, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act at Fifty: Aspirations, Effects, and Limitations, RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 3, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act at Fifty and Beyond (December 2015), pp. 1-29
The New Politics of Diversity
In 2009, the U.S. Department of Education distributed $2,500,000 via a competitive grant program, the Technical Assistance for Student Assignment Plans, to 11 school districts. The grants and their local effects provide an opportunity to examine the new politics of diversity in public education. Participants cited a wide range of conceptions of diversity, most of which were race-neutral. Some districts enacted policies deemphasizing their origina…
Introduction
Equity has long been one of the main goals of public education in the United States, even though public schooling has often fallen short of the ideal in practice. Notions of what educational equity requires have shifted over time. Currently, as this issue's articles show, many ideas about educational equity are contending with each other in policy and politics. The political environment is not just complex but also challenging. At a time when res…
Educational New Paternalism
Since the 1990s, a growing number of urban schools have gained attention for their distinctive approach to academics and character education. These schools, most of them charters, share the stated goals of closing the racial achievement gap and preparing all of their students for college. In this article, we identify common elements of their approach, which we, following others, label as “new paternalism.” We describe the unique features of new-p…
Expanding the Moral Community” or “Blaming the Victim”? The Politics of State Education Accountability Policy
Advocates of educational accountability policies say that the policies are intended to use the state’s authority to ensure equal educational opportunity. Opponents make essentially the opposite claim: that expanded state power is intended to disempower local communities and to single them out for blame, in response to larger political and economic imperatives. This article analyzes the enactment of educational accountability policies in four U.S.…
Incentives, Capacity, and Implementation
Since the 1980s, most of the states and the U.S. federal government have enacted policies based upon the theory of standards-based education reform. These policies attempt to use incentives to overcome the difficulty of implementing policy in a loosely coupled system. This article presents a case study of the implementation of standards-based reform in Massachusetts. The case study shows how poorly thought-out incentive structures, lack of capaci…
Dubious Sovereignty
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) represents the greatest extension to date of Federal authority over public school governance. In NCLB, Congress used its conditional spending power to push states and localities into enacting particular kinds of testing and accountability policies. This article places NCLB in the context of Congress's generally increasing willingness to exert itself via conditions attached to federal financial aid. It also anal…
Introduction to the Special Issue on Federalism Reconsidered
(2005). Introduction to the Special Issue on Federalism Reconsidered: The Case of the No Child Left Behind Act. Peabody Journal of Education: Vol. 80, No. 2, pp. 1-18
Boom for Whom
What Causes Variation in States' Accountability Policies
This article examines the educational conditions and resources, institutional characteristics, and political factors that contribute to shaping states' educational accountability policies. The policies addressed are identification of underperforming schools, state takeover or reconstitution of failing schools, and state power to replace principals and teachers in underperforming schools. The article addresses accountability for schools and educat…
Market education
Market education
No Abstact
Incentives, Capacity, and Implementation
Since the 1980s, most of the states and the U.S. federal government have enacted policies based upon the theory of standards-based education reform. These policies attempt to use incentives to overcome the difficulty of implementing policy in a loosely coupled system. This article presents a case study of the implementation of standards-based reform in Massachusetts. The case study shows how poorly thought-out incentive structures, lack of capaci…
Dubious Sovereignty
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) represents the greatest extension to date of Federal authority over public school governance. In NCLB, Congress used its conditional spending power to push states and localities into enacting particular kinds of testing and accountability policies. This article places NCLB in the context of Congress's generally increasing willingness to exert itself via conditions attached to federal financial aid. It also anal…
What Causes Variation in States' Accountability Policies
This article examines the educational conditions and resources, institutional characteristics, and political factors that contribute to shaping states' educational accountability policies. The policies addressed are identification of underperforming schools, state takeover or reconstitution of failing schools, and state power to replace principals and teachers in underperforming schools. The article addresses accountability for schools and educat…
The New Politics of Diversity
In 2009, the U.S. Department of Education distributed $2,500,000 via a competitive grant program, the Technical Assistance for Student Assignment Plans, to 11 school districts. The grants and their local effects provide an opportunity to examine the new politics of diversity in public education. Participants cited a wide range of conceptions of diversity, most of which were race-neutral. Some districts enacted policies deemphasizing their origina…
Expanding the Moral Community” or “Blaming the Victim”? The Politics of State Education Accountability Policy
Advocates of educational accountability policies say that the policies are intended to use the state’s authority to ensure equal educational opportunity. Opponents make essentially the opposite claim: that expanded state power is intended to disempower local communities and to single them out for blame, in response to larger political and economic imperatives. This article analyzes the enactment of educational accountability policies in four U.S.…
Educational New Paternalism
Since the 1990s, a growing number of urban schools have gained attention for their distinctive approach to academics and character education. These schools, most of them charters, share the stated goals of closing the racial achievement gap and preparing all of their students for college. In this article, we identify common elements of their approach, which we, following others, label as “new paternalism.” We describe the unique features of new-p…
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act at Fifty
David A. Gamson, Kathryn A. McDermott, Douglas S. Reed, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act at Fifty: Aspirations, Effects, and Limitations, RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 3, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act at Fifty and Beyond (December 2015), pp. 1-29
Eroding Integration
Drawing on Boddie’s adaptive discrimination framework, this article analyzes changes in demographic trends from 2002–2021. Our findings reveal a continuation of several longstanding trends, including increased racial/ethnic diversity in public school enrollment; deepening racial isolation within districts; persistent, high isolation for Black students; high but declining isolation for white students; growing isolation for Hispanic and Asian stude…
The Politics of Covid-19 and Educational Inequities
The articles in this issue examine and document the emerging politics of education in the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on its present and future consequences for equity and social justice. It brings together education politics and policy perspectives on the PK-16 education system’s initial responses to the COVID-19 emergency. The articles in this issue provide insight into how the first year of the pandemic affected education, with …
Introduction
Equity has long been one of the main goals of public education in the United States, even though public schooling has often fallen short of the ideal in practice. Notions of what educational equity requires have shifted over time. Currently, as this issue's articles show, many ideas about educational equity are contending with each other in policy and politics. The political environment is not just complex but also challenging. At a time when res…
Market education
Market education
No Abstact
What Causes Variation in States' Accountability Policies
This article examines the educational conditions and resources, institutional characteristics, and political factors that contribute to shaping states' educational accountability policies. The policies addressed are identification of underperforming schools, state takeover or reconstitution of failing schools, and state power to replace principals and teachers in underperforming schools. The article addresses accountability for schools and educat…
Dubious Sovereignty
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) represents the greatest extension to date of Federal authority over public school governance. In NCLB, Congress used its conditional spending power to push states and localities into enacting particular kinds of testing and accountability policies. This article places NCLB in the context of Congress's generally increasing willingness to exert itself via conditions attached to federal financial aid. It also anal…
Introduction to the Special Issue on Federalism Reconsidered
(2005). Introduction to the Special Issue on Federalism Reconsidered: The Case of the No Child Left Behind Act. Peabody Journal of Education: Vol. 80, No. 2, pp. 1-18
Boom for Whom
Incentives, Capacity, and Implementation
Since the 1980s, most of the states and the U.S. federal government have enacted policies based upon the theory of standards-based education reform. These policies attempt to use incentives to overcome the difficulty of implementing policy in a loosely coupled system. This article presents a case study of the implementation of standards-based reform in Massachusetts. The case study shows how poorly thought-out incentive structures, lack of capaci…
Expanding the Moral Community” or “Blaming the Victim”? The Politics of State Education Accountability Policy
Advocates of educational accountability policies say that the policies are intended to use the state’s authority to ensure equal educational opportunity. Opponents make essentially the opposite claim: that expanded state power is intended to disempower local communities and to single them out for blame, in response to larger political and economic imperatives. This article analyzes the enactment of educational accountability policies in four U.S.…
Introduction
Equity has long been one of the main goals of public education in the United States, even though public schooling has often fallen short of the ideal in practice. Notions of what educational equity requires have shifted over time. Currently, as this issue's articles show, many ideas about educational equity are contending with each other in policy and politics. The political environment is not just complex but also challenging. At a time when res…
Educational New Paternalism
Since the 1990s, a growing number of urban schools have gained attention for their distinctive approach to academics and character education. These schools, most of them charters, share the stated goals of closing the racial achievement gap and preparing all of their students for college. In this article, we identify common elements of their approach, which we, following others, label as “new paternalism.” We describe the unique features of new-p…
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act at Fifty
David A. Gamson, Kathryn A. McDermott, Douglas S. Reed, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act at Fifty: Aspirations, Effects, and Limitations, RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 3, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act at Fifty and Beyond (December 2015), pp. 1-29
The New Politics of Diversity
In 2009, the U.S. Department of Education distributed $2,500,000 via a competitive grant program, the Technical Assistance for Student Assignment Plans, to 11 school districts. The grants and their local effects provide an opportunity to examine the new politics of diversity in public education. Participants cited a wide range of conceptions of diversity, most of which were race-neutral. Some districts enacted policies deemphasizing their origina…
Quality, Close to Home” and Invisible Zero-Sum Politics
In 2013, the Boston Public Schools (BPS) adopted the Home-Based Student Assignment Policy (HBSAP), which replaced elementary and middle-school choice within three large geographic zones with an algorithm that generates a choice basket of schools for each address based on proximity to the student’s home and a guarantee that all baskets will include at least four schools in the top two state test-score quartiles of BPS. Adoption of HBSAP broke a lo…
The Politics of Covid-19 and Educational Inequities
The articles in this issue examine and document the emerging politics of education in the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular focus on its present and future consequences for equity and social justice. It brings together education politics and policy perspectives on the PK-16 education system’s initial responses to the COVID-19 emergency. The articles in this issue provide insight into how the first year of the pandemic affected education, with …
Small advances and swift retreat
The three terms comprising the Obama and Trump presidencies provide an opportunity to understand the evolution of race-conscious education policy in an increasingly multiracial, unequal, and divided society. Through document review and interviews with civil rights lawyers, government officials, congressional staffers, and intermediary organization personnel, we sought to understand how Obama officials envisioned and changed the role of the federa…
Deliberating across difference
Dialogue, listening, and compromise are essential elements of living in a democracy. In a highly partisan time, is it possible to reestablish common ground when it comes to how best to educate our children in and for democracy? Authors Brendan Sheran, Ashley Carey, Jack Schneider, Rebecca Woodland, and Kathryn McDermott, who are affiliated with Center for Education Policy (CEP) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, outline a process called …
Eroding Integration
Drawing on Boddie’s adaptive discrimination framework, this article analyzes changes in demographic trends from 2002–2021. Our findings reveal a continuation of several longstanding trends, including increased racial/ethnic diversity in public school enrollment; deepening racial isolation within districts; persistent, high isolation for Black students; high but declining isolation for white students; growing isolation for Hispanic and Asian stude…
Political science (14 works) · Sociology (12 works) · Law (11 works) · Law (10 works) · Politics (10 works) · School Choice and Performance (10 works) · Public Administration (9 works) · Public Administration (8 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Public relations (6 works)