The editors’ ambitious endeavor to capture as many of the important debates in American education is well achieved throughout well-developed volumes that miss very little in capturing the contemporary educational landscape in America. Each volume has an extensive introduction in which the main issues are discussed with historical, legal, and cultural foundations provided so the reader can better contextualize the individual topics. There is also a good amount of useful examination of issues across multiple volumes. For example, charter schools have sections in four of the volumes, with each providing a different understanding of the issue. There are some issues covered that may not be useful to a wide audience, such as “Should Teachers Be Subject to Drug Testing,” and “Should Students Be Required to Engage in Fund-Raising Activities as a Condition of Participating in Certain Activities or Events?” However, the series manages to cover all major issues in more than adequate depth.

The structure of Debating Issues in American Education provides roughly 15 topics per volume with 3 essays per topic: overview, point, and counterpoint. Issues covered are relevant to students and educators, and cover a wide range of topics. In general, the overview essays summarize the issues and emphasize the interplay between the point/counterpoint essays. As the point/counterpoint essays are brief (4–5 pages each) and reference each other, the overview essays occasionally seem unnecessary. The list of contributors includes an impressive collection of education faculty, practitioners with extensive academic credentials, school administrators, and other specialists such as attorneys specializing in education law. Series Editor Charles J. Russo, of The University of Dayton, has a wealth of relevant experience and publications in the field of education. Russo has also edited several education related encyclopedias, including Encyclopedia of Law and Higher Education (Sage, 2010). The other series editor, Allan G. Osborne, has a wealth of experience as a principal, and has published widely on special education and education law.

Debating Issues in American Education is a needed addition to the reference literature on American education, as there are no encyclopedias that provide the same contemporary and comprehensive overview while also providing the legal, cultural, and theoretical backgrounds of current issues in American education. Recent encyclopedias that cover similar ground are Sage’s Encyclopedia of the Social and Cultural Foundations of Education (2009), which provides some similar entries, but is much more historical in nature. Encyclopedia of American Education (Facts on File, revised edition released in 2007) does not offer the same focus on debating issues, and offers more material on historical development than contemporary topics. The 2003 Encyclopedia of Education (MacMillan) is also a title with many similar entries, but the decade after its publishing has been extremely important as the effects of No Child Left Behind legislation have become clearer. Although there are no recent encyclopedias with the focus on framing the debates in the United States about educational issues, there are “reference-like” series, such as Gale’s Opposing Viewpoints that purport to offer the same treatment of educational issues as Debating Issues in American Education. However, the essays in Debating Issues in American Education are much more scholarly. But, the research-based writing in the essays contained in this encyclopedia does not hinder the readability and accessibility for a variety of audiences, from college freshmen to graduate students to the interested parent. The scholarly yet highly accessible writing makes this work highly valuable for busy practitioners who need broader context or a student seeking more background on an issue for a presentation or paper. Individual volumes from the Debating Issues in American Education can be purchased separately (for a small premium), with all volumes of high quality and worthy of purchase if libraries cannot afford the series. In sum, even libraries with most recent education reference sources mentioned above will find significant value in this important series. Highly recommended for all libraries. Libraries not able to purchase the entire series are highly encouraged to consider individual volumes.