Why two reform movements — choice and accountability — have fallen short
Public education has been rocked over the past two decades by the choice and accountability movements, both launched by reformers in an effort to “fix” failing schools. Why haven’t they worked as well as promised? This post examines this question. It is written by Jack Schneider, an assistant professor of education at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and the author ofExcellence For All: How a New Breed of Reformers Is Transforming America’s Public Schools. He tweets @Edu_Historian.By Jack Schneider
Over the past 20 years, two reform movements — choice and accountability — have transformed the face of K-12 education. With strong support at the state and federal level, as well as among the American public, each has become a standard feature of the modern policy landscape. As such, parents today frequently choose which schools their children attend, and low-scoring schools are routinely sanctioned for their performance.
Yet while each movement has shown some promise for improving access to good schools, neither has lived up to expectations. Why? Critics have a whole host of
How test scores can be deceiving
Consider this: On the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the test that is commonly referred to as “the nation’s report card,” Massachusetts students performed so well that the state ranked No. 1 in the nation. Sounds good, right? Then consider … Continue reading →