Fifty years after the US Supreme Court ruled that "separate but equal" was "inherently unequal," Paul Street argues that little progress has been made to meaningful reform America's schools.

In fact, Street considers the racial make-up of today's schools as a state of de facto apartheid. With an eye to the historical development of segregated education, Street examines the current state of school funding and investigates disparities in teacher quality, teacher stability, curriculum, classroom supplies, faculties, student-teacher ratios, teacher's expectations for students, and students' expectations for themselves.

Books in the series offer short, polemic takes on hot topics in education, providing a basic entry point into contemporary issues for courses and general readers.