My reform credentials are in good order, but whether "progress is possible" isn't the issue. It's whether the amount of progress has been worth the expense, effort, and disruption--and whether emphasizing structural reform (vs. instructional reform) was the best approach. 1/
My reform credentials are in good order, but whether "progress is possible" isn't the issue. It's whether the amount of progress has been worth the expense, effort, and disruption--and whether emphasizing structural reform (vs. instructional reform) was the best approach. 1/
Structural reforms like charters and choice are important, but those levers assume the "product" is sound and the delivery needs improvement. I don't think that assumption stands up to scrutiny. 2/2 fordhaminstitute.org/national/comme…
P.S. Choice advocates--and I am one--often risk making the same mistake as Big Reform, which assumed schools know what to do and only need to be held accountable. Similarly, choice advocates assume abundant dynamism that needs only to be unleashed. I'm uncertain that's so.
@rpondiscio Precisely. As I put it in 'Ed is Upside-Down', doing so was like beating a blind horse.