What Exactly is a Doctor of Education?

Arthur Levine, President of Columbia University's Teachers College has issued a report critical of School of Education Ed.D programs and calling for their elimination. An article in today's Chronicle of Higher Education notes:
"[P]rograms in educational leadership suffered from low admissions standards, weak faculties, and inappropriate degrees.

"'There is absolutely no reason why a school leader needs a doctorate,' Mr. Levine said.

"In its place, he called for the creation of a new degree, the master's in educational administration, with a curriculum in both management and education. It would be the terminal degree needed to rise through the ranks of education administration.

"The doctorate in school leadership, Mr. Levine said, should be reserved for a small number of people who want to become researchers. The degree is currently awarded to both scholars and administrators and as such, he said, is ambiguously defined."

Hear, Hear. Or is it here here?