Overview

Everyone agrees schools should be better. No one agrees how. Education Reform is the endless political battle to fix the system. It swings like a pendulum between “Back to Basics” and “Progressive Education.”

Core Idea

The core idea is Systemic Change. Trying to fix the machine, not just the individual parts.

Formal Definition

The goal of changing public education. Waves: Common School Movement (1840s), Desegregation (1950s), Standards/Accountability (1990s-2000s).

Intuition

  • The Pendulum:
    • 1950s: Sputnik launched. “We need more Math and Science!” (Rigorous).
    • 1970s: “Let kids be free!” (Open Classrooms).
    • 1980s: “A Nation at Risk.” “Our schools are failing!” (Back to Basics).
    • 2000s: No Child Left Behind. (Testing).

Examples

  • Common Core: A recent attempt to create one set of standards for the whole USA. “Every 3rd grader should know fractions.” It was hated by both the Left (too corporate) and the Right (federal overreach).
  • Finland: The poster child for reform. They have no standardized tests, no homework, and the best scores in the world. (But it’s hard to copy a small, homogeneous country).

Common Misconceptions

  • Money fixes everything: The US spends more per student than almost any other country, but gets mediocre results. How you spend it matters more than how much you spend.
  • Teacher Tenure: The rule that makes it hard to fire bad teachers. Reformers hate it; Unions love it (as protection).
  • Merit Pay: Paying teachers based on student test scores. (It usually fails because teachers just teach to the test).

Applications

  • Equity: The current focus. Closing the “Achievement Gap” between white/rich students and black/poor students.

Criticism / Limitations

  • Silver Bullets: Reformers always look for the “One Thing” (iPads! Small Classes! Charter Schools!) that will fix everything. Education is too complex for silver bullets.

Further Reading

  • Goldstein, Dana. The Teacher Wars.