DIANE RAVITCH is Research Professor of Education at New York University and a historian of education. She is also a nonresident senior research fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Ravitch, a member of the National Academy of Education, has previously taught at Teachers College, Columbia University and lectured widely in Europe and Asia on issues of democracy and civic education. Serving as an advocate for public education through government service, Ravitch championed the creation of voluntary state and national standards as the Assistant Secretary of Education under the administration of President George H.W. Bush.
