A Brookings Institution Press and the Education Commission of the States PublicationBehind the scenes a revolution is taking place in primary and secondary education. Once thought sacrosanct the principle of local lay control has come under growing attack. In the 1970s and 1980s governors sought greater influence by promulgating academic standards and even taking over failing schools. Mayors soon followed with some wresting control of struggling local school systems. Atop this the president and Congress greatly extended their reach into U.S. classrooms with enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 which requires annual reading and math tests in grades 3 through 8 tougher yardsticks to measure whether pupils are making sufficient progress and penalties for schools that persistently fall short.The result is a spiderampaposs web of responsibility. It is difficult if not impossible to figure out where accountability lies. Not only have municipal state and federal authorities reasserted control over the separate education government that the nation long ago created but an array of other institutionsamp151including the courts communitybased organizations and education management companiesamp151are also deeply involved in school decisions. These trends have created a growing gap between those who make education policy and those responsible for the results. Whatampaposs more they have contributed to widespread confusion about how to fix public education.In Whoampaposs in Charge Here some of the finest minds in education cut through the confusion to analyze key issues such as the Constitutionampaposs role in allocating responsibility for education the pros and cons of growing federal control how to ensure a supply of talented teachers for the underprivileged the impact of the schoolchoice movement and the expanding nonacademic role of schools. Other chapters explore the history of U.S. education governance and propose principles for creating a new system that especi