Diane Ravitch on education reform and misguided reformers-part 2
By
Click here for Part 2 of the transcript of the Diane Ravitch interview with Kathy Baron.
5 Comments
Trackbacks
- Diane Ravitch on a mission | Thoughts on Public Education
- Very Useful Diane Ravitch Interview | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...
I agree. No Child Left Behind tries to make everyone equal. Imagine requiring every football game, every baseball game required to end in a tie. Image requiring every student to have the same test scores. Don’t hold back geniuses. I hope ‘Race to the Top’ will do better. My further comments on NCLB are at: http://Opinion.FarTooMuch.Info/leftbehind.htm.
Report this comment for abusive language, hate speech and profanity
Professor Ravitch is making some apt criticisms of some of the problems with No Child Left Behind. But we need more than criticisms; we need a way forward. I suggest a useful role might be for her to sit on a commission advising Congress and the Department of Education on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. No one will disagree with her goal of bringing better quality teachers into the profession, while some will disagree with her idea of cancelling annual standardized testing; but an informed debate, with knowledgeable and persuasive spokespeople representing the various schools of thought, needs to happen, so that we can do better than we did with the last attempted major educational reform.
Report this comment for abusive language, hate speech and profanity
NCLB wasn’t even enacted until 2003 and was instantly panned by the education establishment. The grants got rolling in 04-05 (Federal funding increased by almost 60% under NCLB). In every district I know, there were nothing but complaints and resistance to every aspect based almost entirely on political ideology, never mind Ted Kennedy and George Miller having guided NCLB through congress. The 100% proficient was never going to be (shades of Lake Wobegon) but 14 years before that deadline isn’t when you worry. Few schools met the first three years goals; in the 10-20% range of proficiency! Most are still stuck at 25-30%. Pretty sad stuff. Ms. Ravitch is thrilled with her new popularity. What a great career move she made. Left Back was a description of education and educational reform. Her latest is political pop culture and has made her a cult hero with teachers who refuse to be accountable. By the way can you name some schools that were closed, teachers and administrators who were fired? I thought not. Draconian threats perhaps but no real consequences.
Report this comment for abusive language, hate speech and profanity