Problems with "Manifesto" thinking
In yesterday's Weekend Quotables, Rich Rothstein and Pres. Obama get it mainly right re. the importance of having a good teacher in every classroom. Rothstein is quick to point out however that, "differences in the quality of schools can explain about one-third of the variation in student achievement. But the other two-thirds is attributable to non-school factors."
But even here, there are limits to how much we can claim when we draw on statistical social-science or education research. While Rothstein's scores a point against "Manifesto" thinkers like Rhee and Klein, who put the entire burden of closing the so-called "achievement gap" on the schoolhouse, those at the school level are often trapped by the data. Statistical analysis is useful in looking at the big picture and for policy analysts. But
But even here, there are limits to how much we can claim when we draw on statistical social-science or education research. While Rothstein's scores a point against "Manifesto" thinkers like Rhee and Klein, who put the entire burden of closing the so-called "achievement gap" on the schoolhouse, those at the school level are often trapped by the data. Statistical analysis is useful in looking at the big picture and for policy analysts. But
