The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education
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Diane Ravitch—ex- assistant secretary of education and a leader in the drive to make a national curriculum—examines her career in education reform and repudiates positions that she once unwaveringly advocated. Drawing on over forty years of research and experience, Ravitch critiques today’s most well loved thoughts for restructuring schools, including privatization, standardized hard, punitive accountability, and the feckless multiplication of charter schools. She shows conclusively why the business model is not an appropriate way to improve schools. Using examples from major cities like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, and San Diego, Ravitch makes the case that public education today is in peril.
Ravitch includes clear prescriptions for improving America’s schools:
- place decisions about schools to educators, not politicians or businessmen
- devise a truly national curriculum that sets out what children in every grade should be learning
- expect charter schools to educate the kids who need help the most, not to compete with public schools
- pay teachers a honest wage for their work, not “merit pay” based on deeply flawed and unreliable test scores
- encourage family tree involvement in education from an early age
The Death and Life of the Fantastic American School System is more than just an analysis of the state of play of the American education system. It is a must-read for any stakeholder in the future of American schooling.
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Diane Ravitch wants to wave a wand and send American education back to what it was in the 1950s – pretty excellent. She refuses to see that the quality of teachers has declined; that Albert Shanker, sadly, is long dead, and has been replaced by union leaders lacking the slightest concern for anything but building teachers impossible to manage and to fire; and that, left to their own devices, education authorities go for whatever idiotic thoughts are currently fashionable, such as contructivist math. In this situation, accountability and hard, for all their weaknesses, are the only way to ensure decent outcomes for kids; and empowering parents with vouchers, ideally, and abundant charters as a second-best, is better than nothing.
That Diane cannot see this – and that such brilliant minds as Rita Kramer, an Amazon reviewer of this sad wreck of a book, would be swayed by Ravitch’s blindness – is a marvel, agreed the wisdom she has demonstrated over the years.
Any parent would know that the educational institutions Ravitch desiderates for their children has not been available to schoolchildren for decades; while the best realistic alternatives available to them – charters and vouchers – she scorns for no reason, except that union-funded evaluations evaluate them terribly. To us parents she offers nostalgia and dusty memories of past glories – and it tastes of ashes.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
I noticed on Amazon’s site that this book is not available till March 2. I say I am suspicious because if these folks got an advance copy, they may be compatriots in this school of thought for public education.
I happened upon the book last night in a book store at the mall and read most of the first chapter. It was excellent to see how Ms. Ravitch admits to her changing of positions over time toward aspects of public education. I get the impression from what I read in the first chapter and what I read on the jackets of the book she wants to return to the “ancient” days of public education. I say that in the time frame of before public education got so political. While I do not like how it has gotten political, the reason it got there was the realization that kids were graduating high school and could not function in the business world.
I look forwards to getting the book soon and walking through Ms. Ravitch’s experience and compare hers to my 25 years in a single system that has changed from a large city county system to a mostly urban system.
Reader’s Rating: 3 / 5
There is nothing simpler to learn how to do than to vastly improve K-12 education and nothing harder to really achieve. This book is replete with examples of the latter and contains some excellent advice for the latter.
I am a paunchy ancient man. If I were to play a game of horse against an powerful 6 foot 6 16 year ancient lad and if I were to beat him, one might conclude that I had beaten the demographics. There are schools, even whole countries, that beat the odds in educating children. Their students perform far better than persons with similar demographics. And you do not have to figure out how they do it. They tell you. And they all say just about the same things: leadership all ears on teaching and learning, fantastic teachers in every classroom, a demanding curriculum and accountability.
Much of this book contains illustrations of why it is so hard to have fantastic teachers, fantastic leaders, a demanding curriculum and accountability. The book contains innumerable examples of the difficulties in achieving accountability. The bottom line on accountability, as Daniel M. Koretz pointed out, there is no sure fire test for teacher effectiveness. But I reflect the evidence is that hard can come much closer than Diane Ravitch admits. From my point of view this is a straw man. Schools that beat the odds do in fact achieve accountability in many ways.
Ms. Ravitch mentions occasionally that resources are necessary to improve schools. I do not recall her bringing up the fact that this country pays more than most for public schools.
Her citations from studies on Charter Schools are sometimes a bit selective. In fact many Charter Schools can be models and are reasonably scalable. Many schools do just that with similar results. The difficulty lies not in the models, but in the interests arrayed against reform. From time to time she refers to some of these interests. But she does not place much stress on them.
It is these interests that are the reason it is much simpler to close a school down and start from scratch. Most fantastic schools in this country, start with a tabula rasa.
She goes really simple on education schools. I judge that they are major part of the problem. Not only do education schools not turn out enough first-rate teachers, but they also turn out reams of really terrible research as President Clinton’s reading panel has attested. As she mentioned, they are largely cash cows for universities. Her information is fantastic. But her criticism is markedly muted.
One criticism I have of Diane Ravitch’s writing in this book is that when she concentrates on education, she speaks with fantastic knowledge and power. She really knows her facts. Much of it I have read before and her citations are honest and accurate. When she wanders beyond her area of expertise, some of her statements are bizarre. I shall offer just one of several I noticed. On page 11 she refers to Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” as “some unknown force.” In fact Hayek described it in excruciating detail and Vernon Smith showed how it works experimentally. Both were awarded a Nobel Prize for doing so. Adam Smith’s invisible hand is no mystery to persons who have studied it at all. Perhaps she is revealing a bias, rather than a lack of understanding.
In all-purpose if you want to get a fantastic exposé of the current state of education in this country, this is an brilliant book. You do not have to agree with her at all to gain from it.
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
Leader Diane Ravitch is a ex- Assistant Secretary of Education well-known for her ex- support of conservative prescriptions for America’s public schools – smaller schools (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), improved accountability (eg. local control; increased principal power; annual norm-referenced hard for all pupils), school choice (charter schools, public school open enrollment), privatization, and deregulation. Market reforms brought particular appeal to Dr. Ravitch and others – as a replacement for of dealing with problems such as how to teach reading, one could simply focus on managing incentives that let Adam Smith’s invisible hand work. She has now concluded that these conservative proposals have not been cure-alls — citing initially compelling favorable studies that had as a replacement for fallen victim to distortions involving differing pupil populations, teaching to the test, etc., as well as many others. She now supports the liberal ‘more of the same’ approach – more money for smaller class sizes, increased teacher pay, etc., and also focus on curriculum and methodology.
But, Dr. Chester Finn, also a ex- Assistant Secretary of Education, in ‘The End of the Education Debate’ (National Affairs, Winter 2010) is not so downcast on the failure of market reforms. He states, “These thoughts are not misguided – just not powerful enough to force meaningful change and bring dramatically improved student achievement.” Example: President Bush’s ‘No Child Left Behind’ allowed state standards to lower passing standards – defeating the whole purpose. Dr. Finn also concedes that school choice has lost some credibility because quality varies widely and many involved don’t know what they’re doing. But, he also contends that despite all the activity, energy, and money poured into education in recent decades, American test scores, graduation excise, and international rankings have remained essentially flat. Meanwhile, additional nations have stirred past us in college matriculation and completion excise.
So, what we’re left with is evidence that neither conservative nor liberal approach has worked, though the conservative approach has been tried less enthusiastically and for less time. The ‘excellent news’ is that both Dr. Ravitch and Dr. Finn have overlooked a simpler answer – substantially increased pupil and parental motivation, evidenced through effective harder.
Dr. Ravitch cites the work of Mults and Martin (Boston College) summarizing lessons learned from decades of mathematics assessments in dozens of nations (the ones we do so poorly one): Success requires strong, rigorous effort, veteran teachers, willing students, and a community that values education. ‘There are no shortcuts or simple answers.’ Similarly, Dr. Finn observes that significantly longer school days at KIPP and High Equipment High in San Diego got ‘the best results.’ Now add the findings of the late Dr. Harold Stevenson’s (Univ. of Michigan), whom I was privileged to meet.
Dr. Stevenson’s cross-cultural comparison of pupils in China (Beijing), Taiwan, Japan (Sendai), and the U.S. (Chicago and Minneapolis) provide outstanding and surprising insights on how to improve U.S. pupil outcomes. American elementary children are in school about 30 hours/week, vs. 44 for their Asian counterparts (after the 1st grade), for about half the days of the year – compared to 2/3 in Asia. Asian children’s attentiveness is boosted through 4 to 5, 10-15 minute recesses each day, vs. the Americans’ single recess of about 50 minutes.
Asian elementary pupils receive considerably more homework than Americans during the school year, as well as homework during trip periods. Many also go to private school on weekends or during the summer – especially when preparing for high-stakes college-entrance exams. Asian class sizes range from 38-50 (much larger than in the U.S.), and responsibility for discipline rests largely with the students – especially the class leader, a position that rotates throughout the class. Parental involvement in Asian academics is minimal prior to age six – Asian pre-school and Cr?che classes are primarily all ears on the children enjoying themselves. Thus, U.S. pupils do to some extent better than most Asian pupils in the 1st grade. (Sorry to say, by the fifth grade the best American classes perform worse than the worst Asian classes.) Meanwhile, U.S. parents generally delegate learning responsibility to the school at this point, and prompt much greater satisfaction with their children’s’ progress than their Asian counterparts.
Asians, including parents, expect all pupils to make it, and that the child’s effort is the prime determinant; Special Education has never been well loved and exists only for the blind, very much deaf, or severely retarded. The U.S. view, but, is inconsistent – we generally judge that ability is the prime determinant of literary success (thus, are much less committed to homework), while at the same time believing that practice is necessary for sports, composition, and dance success. Dr. Stevenson also establish that all three Asian nations spend considerably less/pupil for K-12 education than the U.S.
Bottom-Line: Test Question – Choose:
A) ‘Liberal’ More of the Same (no improvement)
B)’Conservative’ More of the Same (no improvement)
C)Work Harder (fantastic improvement).
(The right answer is C).
Reader’s Rating: 4 / 5
Thank you, Diane Ravitch, for having the excellent sense, the commonsense and the courage to speak the truth about education. “It is not the organization of the schools that is at fault for the ignorance we deplore, but the lack of sound educational values.”
Thank you for being willing to re-examine your own views and to take on the Billionare Boys’Club that has tried throwning money at the problem only to realize that there is no one cure all that will “fix” education.
And, most of all thank you for reminding us that “Not everything that matters can be quantified,” and that we have got to teach literature and history and geography and science and not focus all of our efforts on “teaching reading and math skills while ignoring the additional studies that are essential fundamentals of a excellent education.”
Thank you for being willing to stand in front of the goods train called school reform that keeps on running down real education in an attempt to find the silver bullet that will produce privileged test scores. Thank you for understanding that education takes time and thought and effort on the part of the students, the teachers, the parents, the administration and the society. It is not something that one can shop for and buy at the nearest Wal Mart or Target! It is something one must work for and earn and cherish.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said that “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.” Thank you for not having a small mind and for not being worried to change your mind when you saw the evidence. Thank you for writing The Death and Life of the Fantastic American School System!
Blanche Brick, Ph.D.
Division Chair
Social Sciences
Blinn College
Bryan, Texas
Reader’s Rating: 5 / 5