UPDATE: Are Our Attempts at Education Reform the Right Approach?
Decades of education reform have distracted from addressing the real problems behind falling test scores in American schools, according to education historian Diane Ravitch.
The New York Times’ Richard Bernstein today , “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education.”
Ravitch’s premise that bureaucrats are out of touch with the real needs of teachers and students might shock most education experts, but probably not many parents. Ravitch goes so far as to say that almost all educational policies — including No Child Left Behind and the focus on charter schools — have been fads that haven’t worked. The real priorities, she writes, should be redesigning student curricula and improving teaching conditions.
If she’s right, we all have some serious reassessment to do. Hawaii’s in the midst of its own education reform. Voters in November will decide whether they want an appointed school board instead of an elected one. The education department has also set its sights on what could be the latest trend in school reform: They’re gearing up for another bid for federal Race to the Top funds.
Now that you’ve heard some of Ravitch’s ideas on education, what are some of yours, especially as they pertain to Hawaii Student Achievement and education accountability? Join me in our education conversation.
