Catholic high schools in the United States have been undergoing three major changes: the shift to primarily lay leadership and teachers; the transition to a more consumerist and pluralist culture; and the increasing diversity of students attending Catholic high schools. James Heft argues that to navigate these changes successfully, leaders of Catholic education need to inform lay teachers more thoroughly, conduct a more profound social analysis of the culture, and address the real needs of students. After presenting the history of Catholic schools in the United States and describing the major legal decisions that have influenced their evolution, Heft describes the distinctive and compelling mission of a Catholic high school. Two chapters are devoted to leadership, and other chapters to teachers, students, alternative models of high schools, financing, and the key role of parents, who today may be described as ''post-deferential'' to traditional authorities, including bishops and priests. Written by an award-winning teacher, scholar, and recognized educational leader in Catholic education, Catholic High Schools should be read by everyone interested in religiously- affiliated educational institutions, particularly Catholic education.

**** New edition of a 1980 reference cited in Sheehy. The 1500 annotated entries are grouped into five chapters: general reference works, theology, humanities, social sciences, and history. The books listed include those dealing with topics peculiar to the church, such as liturgy and theological disciplines; and those dealing with the social sciences, literature, the arts, and similar subjects to which Catholics have traditionally contributed a unique perspective. Catholic authorship alone is not enough to justify the inclusion of a reference work; the contents or point of view must relate in some way to Catholicism. Periodicals are only included if they are of a bibliographic nature or if they publish annual bibliographies. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

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The authors examine a broad range of Catholic high schools to determine whether or not students are better educated in these schools than they are in public schools. They find that the Catholic schools do have an independent effect on achievement, especially in reducing disparities between disadvantaged and privileged students. The Catholic school of today, they show, is informed by a vision, similar to that of John Dewey, of the school as a community committed to democratic education and the common good of all students.