The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education

March 8, 2010 | By In Article |

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5 Comments so far

  1. Mark Rutherford on March 8th, 2010

    Diane Ravitch wants to wave a wand and send American education back to what it was in the 1950s – pretty good. She refuses to see that the quality of teachers has declined; that Albert Shanker, sadly, is long dead, and has been replaced by union leaders without the slightest concern for anything but making teachers impossible to manage and to fire; and that, left to their own devices, education authorities go for whatever idiotic ideas are currently fashionable, such as contructivist math. In this situation, accountability and testing, 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 wonder, given the wisdom she has demonstrated over the years.

    Any parent would understand 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 badly. To us parents she offers nostalgia and dusty memories of past glories – and it tastes of ashes.

    Rating: 1 / 5

  2. M. Grant on March 9th, 2010

    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 good 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 “old” 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 forward 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.
    Rating: 3 / 5

  3. Loyd E. Eskildson on March 9th, 2010

    Author Diane Ravitch is a former Assistant Secretary of Education well-known for her former support of conservative prescriptions for America’s public schools – smaller schools (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), improved accountability (eg. local control; increased principal authority; annual norm-referenced testing for all pupils), school choice (charter schools, public school open enrollment), privatization, and deregulation. Market reforms brought particular appeal to Dr. Ravitch and others – instead 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 instead 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.

    However, Dr. Chester Finn, also a former 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 ideas 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. However, he also contends that despite all the activity, energy, and money poured into education in recent decades, American test scores, graduation rates, and international rankings have remained essentially flat. Meanwhile, other nations have moved past us in college matriculation and completion rates.

    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 ‘good news’ is that both Dr. Ravitch and Dr. Finn have overlooked a simpler answer – substantially increased pupil and parental motivation, evidenced through working 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, experienced teachers, willing students, and a community that values education. ‘There are no shortcuts or easy answers.’ Similarly, Dr. Finn observes that significantly longer school days at KIPP and High Technology 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 vacation 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 Kindergarten classes are primarily focused on the children enjoying themselves. Thus, U.S. pupils do somewhat better than most Asian pupils in the 1st grade. (Unfortunately, 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 express much greater satisfaction with their children’s’ progress than their Asian counterparts.

    Asians, including parents, expect all pupils to succeed, and that the child’s effort is the prime determinant; Special Education has never been popular and exists only for the blind, profoundly deaf, or severely retarded. The U.S. view, however, is inconsistent – we generally believe that ability is the prime determinant of academic success (thus, are much less committed to homework), while at the same time believing that practice is necessary for sports, music, and dance success. Dr. Stevenson also found 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 (great improvement).

    (The correct answer is C).

    Rating: 4 / 5

  4. Virginia on March 9th, 2010

    I don’t think there is anything left to say on the topic of how far off-course public education has gone in America in recent years, and why. The final chapter of this book is simply inspiring in laying out an approach to education that should be common-sensical but sadly now reads as quite radical. Every policy-maker in the field should read it, from DC to state capitols and local school boards. The lessons Ravitch draws have even broader applicability as some of the same dynamics are at work in health care and in the privatization of other essentially public functions — the problem for the US is that we seem unable to accept any other model for the allocation of goods than the marketplace approach, even when it is clearly ineffective and perhaps even downright dangerous. The corrosive effect of the “creative destruction” that is the marketplace on our national culture — whether in the popular media or the classroom — is also something we should all worry about.

    Everyone who cares about public education — and the country more generally — owes Ravitch a great debt of thanks for her scholarship, and most of all, for her commitment to the truth, even when it is uncomfortable. Read this power, well-researched, and important book.
    Rating: 5 / 5

  5. Fred Bortz "Dr. Fred" on March 9th, 2010

    Please don’t rate this review yet. I will be replacing it with a much longer version once my review is published in a major metropolitan newspaper.

    For now, here’s my concluding paragraph in the draft of my full version:

    This book is an urgent warning of impending danger. With the nation’s educational system at greater risk than ever, it should be required reading for every school administrator and school board member in the United States.

    Also, here’s a link to an important book that Ravitch discusses. I also review that one on my Science Shelf website.

    Tested: One American School Struggles to Make the Grade

    Stay tuned for the full review.
    Rating: 5 / 5

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