This book demonstrates how school reforms of the past 200 years share many common flaws. Based on an intensive three-year study of school reform in the United States, Breaking the Cycle of Failed School Reform analyzes and critiques the following historical reform movements: Lancastrian Plan, 1806; Age-graded Plan, 1848; Gary Plan, 1906; Trump Plan, 1959; School Development Plan, 1968; and Coalition of Essential Schools, 1984.

Emerging from the study was a set of reform rubrics. These six rubrics, each corresponding to twenty-six distinct variables, provide today's educators a lens through which their schools can be assessed against the historic plans. This process allows educators to easily determine their school's strengths and weaknesses with a strong sense of historical perspective. The book concludes with a set of recommendations for practitioners, policy developers, and researchers for what has to be included if school reform is to be successful in the future.