Author and Stanford emeritus professor Larry Cuban cuts through ‘the hype’ on school reforms
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Click here for a transcript of our interview.
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Wow! Professor Cuban’s findings and message represent a clear shot across the bow of any foundation or special interest group pushing for a one-size-fits-all approach to education reform, especially a costly one that isn’t realistic given the conditions on the ground (like manding UC’s A-G curriculum upon all secondary students).
While I believe he is overlooking the influence of the largest teachers’ organization (CTA/NEA) in policy reform debates, his message against one-size-fits-all approaches and mandating the latest fad among the dominant culutre is well worth heeding.
I believe that students need to be the focus of all policy reform endeavors, since education is merely a means to an end for them. Too many of the adults involved in education seem to be serving their own interests, gauging success by how many students go onto the next level of public education, without a clear aim on those to whom they are called to serve.
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With the disclaimer that my own kids attend/ed a small high school and I fully agree that small schools are an optimal environment for some kids:
There’s hype in the small-schools movement as well — perhaps there’s hype in anything that’s described as a “movement.”
Here in San Francisco, two small schools that are struggling badly have benefited from misleading hype from surprisingly credible — but apparently deceived — sources. One is a charter school, Leadership, which struggles with low achievement, a poor reputation (in the real world, as opposed to its shining reputation among researchers) and dropping enrollment. The other is our district’s consistently lowest-performing high school (except for specialty/continuation schools), June Jordan Small School for Equity.
And our district’s largest schools are among the highest achieving. Lowell is an outlier because it’s a selective academic magnet, but Lincoln and Washington are the other two largest high schools, and they’re both popular, successful and oversubscribed.
Here’s a Chronicle story on June Jordan’s troubles, which include low achievement and a frightening dropout rate:
June Jordan high school: success or failure?
Small classes, well funded yet test scores among worst
September 20, 2010|By Jill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer
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SAN FRANCISCO — June Jordan School for Equity has been touted as a shining star of San Francisco public high schools and a national example of how limiting enrollment and tailoring instruction to the needs of individuals can push struggling students into college.
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The school, which opened seven years ago, boasts small class sizes and an adviser for every 16 students, plus a college counselor. June Jordan’s funding of more than $11,000 for each of the 241 students, which comes from public and private sources, exceeds what most other district students get.
The school board loves it. So do many parents and students.
The trouble is, June Jordan is consistently one of the worst-performing schools in California on standardized tests. And student attrition is high, with a fraction of each freshmen class sticking around for four years.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-09-20/news/24012301_1_small-schools-standardized-tests-worst-performing-schools
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Stellar work there eevrnyoe. I’ll keep on reading.
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Ty2A3F ojuipwvtybji
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