Summary Of Education Failing By Diane Ravitch
About the Author: Diane Ravitch was George W. Bush’s assistant secretary of education and was in charge of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Research and Improvement. She was an initial supporter of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation with its focus on standards, testing, and accountability. However, after seeing the “corrosive effects” (p. 5) of NCLB on public education, she is now a strong advocate against standardized testing to judge the effectiveness of schools, student academic achievement, and teachers.
Purpose and Context:
1. Is American education in crisis?
2. Is American education failing and declining?
3. What is the evidence for the reforms now being promoted by federal government and adopted in many …show more content…
With longitudinal data and research to support her position, Ravitch decimates the false claims with precision and purpose. She makes a compelling argument that our schools are not failing and that the “crisis” is manufactured to promote the agenda of the corporate reformers and privatization movement. Test scores are at their highest point ever and the achievement gaps are closing. The high school dropout rates are at their lowest and graduation rates at their highest. She tackles the opponents claim that poverty is just an excuse for poor performance and provides compelling research that unequivocally demonstrates the high correlation between poverty and low academic achievement. If you want to improve the academic achievement in high poverty schools, then address the issues of poverty within the community. She takes laser like aim to blast apart the claim that Charter schools are superior to public schools and produce higher academic gains. She provides multiple examples of how public funds are making entrepreneurs rich at the expense of children and taxpayers. She also dismantles the claim that students who use vouchers for private and religious schools show dramatic improvement and success. She also successfully challenges the erroneous notion that firing the school staff or having parents take control of their schools will “turn schools around.” The evidence simply does not support
Purpose and Context:
1. Is American education in crisis?
2. Is American education failing and declining?
3. What is the evidence for the reforms now being promoted by federal government and adopted in many …show more content…
With longitudinal data and research to support her position, Ravitch decimates the false claims with precision and purpose. She makes a compelling argument that our schools are not failing and that the “crisis” is manufactured to promote the agenda of the corporate reformers and privatization movement. Test scores are at their highest point ever and the achievement gaps are closing. The high school dropout rates are at their lowest and graduation rates at their highest. She tackles the opponents claim that poverty is just an excuse for poor performance and provides compelling research that unequivocally demonstrates the high correlation between poverty and low academic achievement. If you want to improve the academic achievement in high poverty schools, then address the issues of poverty within the community. She takes laser like aim to blast apart the claim that Charter schools are superior to public schools and produce higher academic gains. She provides multiple examples of how public funds are making entrepreneurs rich at the expense of children and taxpayers. She also dismantles the claim that students who use vouchers for private and religious schools show dramatic improvement and success. She also successfully challenges the erroneous notion that firing the school staff or having parents take control of their schools will “turn schools around.” The evidence simply does not support