Written by an interdisciplinary group of experts in education, psychology, sociology, and other fields, this landmark handbook provides a thorough examination of U.S. secondary education from the private academies of Colonial America to the comprehensive high schools and alternative schools of today. This accessible compendium is a treasure trove of reliable and authoritative information for educators, parents, and students. It includes original entries on assessment, architecture, bullying, campus life, censorship, college preparation, desegregation, disabilities, ethnic identity, family and community involvement, finance inequality, gangs, home schooling, homework, immigrants, intelligence, learning styles, magnet schools, mentoring, peer groups and peer culture, prom, reunions, rural schools, school boards, school to work programs, sex education, sports, standardized tests, student rights, teacher certification, teacher shortage, test preparation, violence, vouchers, and yearbooks, just to name a few. The text includes primary documents, each with scene and context-setting introductions, such as reports, legislation, and US Supreme Court cases will be found as well. Thorough cross-referencing enables the user to follow a topic from an entry to a primary document or another related entry. This wide-ranging, accessible and user-friendly source is an authoritative reference for anyone concerned with high schools and high school students in the United States.