The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education

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The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education

4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 · rating details · 2,029 ratings · 510 reviews

A passionate plea to preserve and renew public education, The Death and Life of the Great American School System is a radical change of heart from one of America’s best-known education experts.

Diane Ravitch—former assistant secretary of education and a leader in the drive to create a national curriculum—examines her career in education reform and repudiates positions that...more

Hardcover, 296 pages

Published March 2nd 2010 by Basic Books (first published 2010)

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May 22, 2012 Will Byrnes rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, the-bush-administration, economics, brain-candy

LATEST UPDATE - 5/22/2012 - new link at bottom

This book should be required reading for every person with a child in public school, for every person who was educated in public schools, for every person who offers an opinion on what should be done with our public schools, for every politician who offers criticisms of public education or solutions to educational challenges, and for every person who has the right to vote in the United States. The author has drilled down beneath the quotidian sound b...more

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Apr 18, 2010 Gregg rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: education

"Seasoned Argument--Needs to be Required Reading on Capitol Hill"

This week, the Chicago Tribune has been running a series of editorials calling for more vouchers, more teacher accountability, getting competitive, weeding out the bad teachers, giving kids a better chance at a good education, "dumping" failing schools, etc. It's no compliment to my intelligence that I had to have colleagues complain about Education Secretary Arnie Duncan for the past year now before I could truly share in their ir...more

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Jun 16, 2012 Philip rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Diane Ravitch was U.S Assistant Secretary of Education from 91-93. She was Counselor to Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander during the Bush 41 years, and Clinton appointed her to the National Assessment Governing Board, overseeing federal testing.

I mention this because it seems we live in an expertless age. Anybody can say anything about education and it's taken as fact. People who know nothing about education dictate educational policy. (Yes, Mayor Bloomberg, I'm talking to you.) Furthermore...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Laura Leaney rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who believe that testing, data, and school choice will cure America's idiocracy

Well, well, well. Does that sound sarcastic? I surely hope so. In my mind, the title should be reversed to read, "The Life and Death of the Great American School System." Because despite former U.S. Department of Education assistant secretary Diane Ravitch's change of heart and best intentions, America's public school "system" is on its way to utter annihilation. How this happened is the story of this book - and Ravitch does a great job of pulling out all the numbers, doing all the research, and...more Well, well, well. Does that sound sarcastic? I surely hope so. In my mind, the title should be reversed to read, "The Life and Death of the Great American School System." Because despite former U.S. Department of Education assistant secretary Diane Ravitch's change of heart and best intentions, America's public school "system" is on its way to utter annihilation. How this happened is the story of this book - and Ravitch does a great job of pulling out all the numbers, doing all the research, and providing a framework for the reader to follow.

The ruination is so complex that it's difficult to summarize. Ravitch points her accusing finger at:

1. Running schools like businesses. (Listen up Broad, Annenberg, Walton, and Gates. Listen up cruel, heartless Superintendents of Reform). Ravitch calls this the "Billionaire Boys' Club." Go into schools, evaluate then fire the teachers and principals who fail to lift test scores (value added!), pump money into restructuring the schools, create smaller academies (one for the smart kids and one for the "losers" who need more help), and then teach to the test. Who gives a shit about the arts?........about Walt Whitman?........about wrestling or tennis? They don't test you on that stuff. They don't test you about what your heart learned. This is why we're getting DUMBER. Because WHAT we're taught doesn't matter as much as the strategies and skills we learn. Question: has this billionaire boy's club money bought us anything? No. Some schools have had success, but most have flatlined. Why? Because the billionaires have a "managerial mind-set that believes that every variable in a child's education can be identified, captured, measured, and evaluated with precision." And it's not true. Sadly, education policy has "increasingly become the domain of statisticians and economists."

2. Charter Schools. Some are great (Ravitch has high praise for KIPP schools). Others are run by profiteers (and one by a convicted rapist!). Regardless, many charters do not accept special education students, slow students, poor students, starving kids without breakfast. They don't have to follow the same laws of inclusion that government-run schools do. Lucky, lucky. Here's Ravitch's gist: "Vouchers, charters, and choice [have] rapidly erod[ed] the public education system." Additionally, we lose something valuable in the piecemeal of educational choices; we lose a common curriculum that fosters a cultural heritage. As it is now, you can enroll your child into a theme school - perhaps a charter centered on business or a Mandarin Chinese dual language immersion school.

3. Weird, unproven fads. Remember when they got rid of phonics for the "whole Language" approach? Needless to say, we're still suffering. There's more, but essentially the public school system has been hijacked by (probably) well-meaning educators who have lost sight of the fundamental principles of education. As a result, there has been a "steady erosion of the content of the curriculum." A student can graduate from high school without ever reading a book of lasting importance or of any length.

4. No Child Left Behind. A mandate from government heaven that says that ALL children will be "proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014." Or heads will roll. So...............schools are frightened, teachers are frightened, principals are panicked, and everybody girds their loins to teach to the test. But don't worry, the test won't ask you what Joseph Conrad meant by "the horror, the horror."

This is not a full list. Diane Ravitch is fairly thorough in her doleful vision. She ends on a hopeful note (which I don't buy into) - and conciliates a bit at the end. She writes: "Higher test scores may or may not be a reliable indicator of better education. The overemphasis on test scores to the exclusion of other important goals of education may actually undermine the love of learning and the desire to acquire knowledge, both necessary ingredients of intrinsic motivation." She believes we can re-invest in public education. I'm not so sure it will ever happen. What our country now values is so different than what it once valued. Read this: "Although Bill Gates had no experience in or expertise about public education, his immense wealth made him a cultural icon; when he spoke, governors, senators, and editorial boards paid close attention. In a time of severe budget shortfalls, his money was a siren song. He argued that achievement was flat, so everyone agreed it was flat; he declared that experience and education did not make teachers more effective, and state legislatures began changing their policies. He decided that the biggest problem in American education was teacher evaluation, and he dispensed almost $300 million to Tampa, Memphis, and Pittsburgh, as well as to charter schools in Los Angeles, to work on a new approach, so that teachers whose students got higher scores would be considered 'effective,' and those who did not would be terminated."

What America appears to value now is the measurable bottom line. And that scares me, because often deep knowledge is not the measurable kind.(less)

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Apr 04, 2013 Amy is currently reading it

Pg 2 what should we think of someone who never admits error, never entertains doubt but adheres unflinchingly to the same ideas All his life, regardless of new evidence? Doubt & skepticism are signs of rationality. When we ARe too certain of our opinions, we run the risk of ignoring any evidence that conflicts with our views. It is doubt that shows we are still thinking, still willing to reexamine hardened beliefs when confronted with facts and new evidence.
Pg 108- ironically, test prep is n...more

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Apr 15, 2011 Claudia rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Every teacher and administrator

Recommended to Claudia by: Dennis

Shelves: professional-reading, can-t-live-without-em, kindle

"The schools will surely be faillures if students graduate knowing how to choose the right option from four bubble on a multiple choice test, but unprepared to lead fulfilling lives, to be responsible citizens and to make good choices for themselves, their families, and our society."

It took her long enough, but Diane Ravitch got it right. As a former supporter of NCLB, she sees the flaws now, and can bring an impressive voice and power to the discussion. For years we said it's impossible to have...more "The schools will surely be faillures if students graduate knowing how to choose the right option from four bubble on a multiple choice test, but unprepared to lead fulfilling lives, to be responsible citizens and to make good choices for themselves, their families, and our society."

It took her long enough, but Diane Ravitch got it right. As a former supporter of NCLB, she sees the flaws now, and can bring an impressive voice and power to the discussion. For years we said it's impossible to have every student reading at grade level, for good schools to stay off the 'bad' list of failing students. We said testing does not measure the teaching and learning going on in our schools. We said this emphasis cuts the opportunities for students in onther disciplines that are not tested. NOW she's saying it too.

Ravitch brings her considerable clout and background to this discussion -- I learned so much about the history of school reform, of the experiments, the failures, the successes. I learned that the fight between phonics and whole language actually plays out in every discipline -- starting with the Social Studies Standards, shot down by Lynn Cheney, that noted educator (verbal irony!). She shows the reforms that seem to work, but are really smoke and mirrors.

"The most durable way to improve schools is to improve curriculum and instruction and to improve the conditions in which teachers work and students learn." Her strategy is clear: Teach a strong curriculum that includes the arts, science, civics, history,physical education. She says the countries who outscore us on those international tests don't narrow the focus as we have; they provide students with a rich educational experience, knowing if you do that, the testing will take care of itself.

Too bad she came to her conclusions so late...hopefully it won't be TOO late. I don't see a lot of change in the Obama Blueprint; in fact, that plan goes down the same murky path NCLB did -- but Ravitch will be there, warning us!(less)

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Jul 15, 2010 Julia Shay rated it 4 of 5 stars

One of the best reviews of the many attempts at reform I've lived through since I started teaching. Ravitch has the data to show that none of them have worked. Not vouchers, not choice, not small high schools, and certainly not testing. All of them have had the overall effect of making things worse. Really fascinating stuff. Wish Obama would read it. He is headed down the same wrong path with encouraging more charter schools and tying testing to teacher's salaries. Interestingly, the only reform...more

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Mar 16, 2013 Misha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Okay, this is a field report on "The Death and Life of the Great
American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining
Education" by Diane Ravitch that I have just finished.

I always stayed away from education experts of all stripes and the
books on the subject. The field of education seemed so empirical that
that books or research on it appeared as useful as self-help books or
cooking manuals. However, the perpetual school reform and its
discussion in the media as well as this country's appa...more

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Jun 15, 2012 Sherry rated it 5 of 5 stars

As someone who is still getting acquainted with the complexity of the education system, I feel that Diane has done well to illuminate the major players in the field and all the trends currently in place. She makes great points, many of which speak to my own conviction that school need to provide all students with a well-rounded, humanistic education. And she does well to support her points with data and evidence. She often repeats the same ideas over and over, such as the need to have developed...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Kameron rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, education

This was required reading for a graduate level course in teaching, and I plan on teaching 7th-8th grade English in public schools in another year when I earn my Masters. The more I learn, the more I see how ridiculous it is to focus education policy on standardized testing, and how denigrating, disrespectful, and ultimately damaging it is to treat teachers (and public education) like scapegoats for the ills of our society and the lack of compassion our political leaders have for the disadvantage...more This was required reading for a graduate level course in teaching, and I plan on teaching 7th-8th grade English in public schools in another year when I earn my Masters. The more I learn, the more I see how ridiculous it is to focus education policy on standardized testing, and how denigrating, disrespectful, and ultimately damaging it is to treat teachers (and public education) like scapegoats for the ills of our society and the lack of compassion our political leaders have for the disadvantaged.

I used to be a right-wing, conservative capitalist, but like Diane Ravitch, I have seen the harm the comes from viewing all aspects of life through the lens of a free-market economic model. Her book, along with other titles such as The Healing of America, The Jungle, and The Grapes of Wrath, has helped to expose the myths of capitalism that have been fed to us by the 1% (there is no free market; competition is not a force for improvement in all arenas, nor is there really any competition in the world of billion-dollar, multinational conglomerates), and have caused me to re-analyze whether I can call myself a christian and still believe in an economic system in which our neediest citizens continue to suffer for lack of basic services. The short answer is, I cannot. It is now my opinion that many of the tenets of socialism, which espouse community and the responsibility of those with to lift up those without, align much closer with the social doctrines of Christianity regarding benevolence, social equality, and justice for the poor.

Ravitch's book offers a wealth of research, and holds nothing back when she criticizes policy makers for their blatant refusals to acknowledge what experts from across the spectrum of politics and disciplines continue to point out: legislation like NCLB and the privatization of public schools are failed initiatives that teach students how to take tests, not how to learn or be critical thinkers. Of course, if all you want are factory drones, then our leaders--both Republican and Democrat--are getting exactly what they planned for.

The most powerful statement from the book, for me, and perhaps one that best sums up Ravitch's message, came from page 286 in the epilogue of this edition: "The billions of public and private dollars devoted to testing and accountability over the past decade might have revolutionized our efforts to improve children's lives and might have enabled nearly all to arrive at school ready to learn." When study after study shows that out-of-school factors such as poverty and health have a greater impact on the average student's ability to achieve than any in-school factor--even teachers--doesn't it make sense that we should be spending more time, energy, and money to affect social reform rather than school reform?(less)

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Jan 05, 2012 Christine Theberge Rafal rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teaching, research

This is a thoughtful, well-researched book from someone with a long history of watching educational reform efforts unfold, and indeed being part of them; she was a high-ranking official in the US DoE during the crafting of NCLB. Chapter by chapter she spells out what is wrong with ideas of choice, NCLB, testing, and accountability as any kind of panacea. Indeed, instead of being a panacea these approaches are undermining American public schools. Some of my quick takeaways: Race to the Top is ill...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Davelowusa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dr. Ravitch has a phenomenal, decades long, experiential perspective on education reform. Having been deeply involved in American educational and political activities since the 1960s, she generally avoids lauding faddish reforms that are predicated on alarmist polemics. She is skeptical of new evaluative measures (especially those that follow a business model) that promise big change. Thus, Ravitch leans toward curriculum & instruction as being of far deeper concern than testing and accounta...more Dr. Ravitch has a phenomenal, decades long, experiential perspective on education reform. Having been deeply involved in American educational and political activities since the 1960s, she generally avoids lauding faddish reforms that are predicated on alarmist polemics. She is skeptical of new evaluative measures (especially those that follow a business model) that promise big change. Thus, Ravitch leans toward curriculum & instruction as being of far deeper concern than testing and accountability. She is incrediby critical of NCLB (yay!) and the idea that heavy testing improves learning in any way. Kudos to her on that. I couldn't agree more.

But...Dr. Ravitch isn't exactly critical in her view of standards. She does not deconstruct or push back against the idea that there exists a standard of knowledge (Q: who gets to define what is 'standard' and for what purposes might the definiton persist?) for all children, that is closely related to issues of race and power. Nor does Ravitch delve into issues of epistemic diversity or fluid definitions of literacy. Thus, Ravitch reifies and normalizes white, upper-class, colonial, "academic" standards of what it means to be educated and literate. She certainly doesn't adopt an ontological stance.

Ravitch (in this book, anyway) endorses certain canonical, masculinist "standards" of literature and history (celebrating, for instance, Massachusetts for having the fortitude to enforce specific--rather than vague, like the other 49 states--standards of which historical events students must learn about). This is where she loses me. Where is there room for critical inquiry? For diverse ways of knowing? For varying interests emanating from culture and self?

Ravitch's ideas of high student achievement correlate heavily with schooled knowledge, and the specific epistemologies that can be transmitted from book or teacher to student. (What would Paulo Freire say?) While I'm in agreement with Ravitch that high-stakes testing is not a cure (or even a treatment) for anything, I tend not to agree that tightly-written specific standards, masquerading as high expectations, serve much function if our goal a truly democratic, inquiry-based education system.

----------

Another but:

I'm looking at this book through the lens(es) of someone who works at a school of education and is deeply immersed in a particular type of reform/rethinking. If this book was to be read through a political lens, by a school superintendant, for instance, I think it does a lovely job of challenging the status quos of testing, school choice, and testing-based accountability. For that the book wins my approval.(less)

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Sep 04, 2011 Shelley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Depending on your stance on public education and your experience with public education, you will either love this book or hate it. If you're pro-charter, pro-test, and anti-union, look elsewhere. If you're an educator or a parent, you should read this because it's really quite good (in a horrifying way). There are some startling statistics about testing and results reports. There is strong evidence that careful and complete curriculum planning does more to help students succeed. The point is mad...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Mj rated it 3 of 5 stars

I found this book very upsetting. Ravitch worked in the Dept. of Education for both Bushes' and Clinton's administrations. She was a supported of No Child Left Behind. As a classroom teacher of some 20 years, I have never been a fan of NCLB. Now, that Ravitch in no longer working for the government, she has decided that NCLB was a big mistake. This is something that classroom teachers and administrators with years of experience tried to tell officials when the law was being written. No one list...more

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May 22, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

In The Death and Life of The Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education, education historian Diane Ravitch presents a multifaceted portrait of the American school system in peril. She describes the No Child Left Behind as a purely punitive accountability system with impossible-to-achieve goals. She argues that NCLB has not nor will not produce improved outcomes for our country’s most underserved children. She contends that the current education reform climate...more In The Death and Life of The Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education, education historian Diane Ravitch presents a multifaceted portrait of the American school system in peril. She describes the No Child Left Behind as a purely punitive accountability system with impossible-to-achieve goals. She argues that NCLB has not nor will not produce improved outcomes for our country’s most underserved children. She contends that the current education reform climate has resulted in a narrowing of the curriculum, reducing many classrooms to test-prep factories, and has weakened the social fabric by closing long-time community schools.

The Death and Life… is more than a simple repudiation of NCLB. Ravitch takes the entire en vogue model of school reform head on, decrying the current fixation on accountability via standardized testing as unsupported by a close scrutiny of the empirical evidence. Through a series of case studies and topical reviews, Ravitch constructs a narrative in The Death and Life… that contends that the trends dominating education reform—indeed, the trends most often considered “silver bullets”—will, in fact, jeopardize the most basic foundations of our education system: to provide an equal education for all students, regardless of income, education, or race. More ominously, she suggests they may possibly spell the end of public education altogether.

Yet I question whether Ravitch’s reports of public education’s death are in some ways exaggerated. Her conclusions appear to be based on a one-sided reading of the evidence or a selective presentation of that evidence. This does a great disservice to a book that otherwise raises many important issues on the effects of so-called reform efforts. It is important to note that her work successfully calls into question the corporatization of the public school experience, the effects of the standardized testing on the long-term educational outcomes of students, the potential ravages of school choice on communities. However, Ravitch does not spare equal opportunity to acknowledge the nuances of the issues she raises, especially in regard to the successes of urban “no excuses” charter schools. Ravitch heaps ample criticism on the corporate orthodoxy that has invaded the public schooling sphere while sparing virtually no words towards well documented excesses, corruption, and underperformance that mar many urban school systems in the country and have allowed charters in the areas to become magnets for parents and children disenchanted with public education.

In my estimation, Ravitch has allowed her political leanings to distort the nuances of the subject she attempts to address, which makes The Death and Life… a compelling but one-sided read. Certainly, her work helps name today’s era of market-force school reform and cast copious doubts on its promises of meaningful change; however, the absence of a full accounting of all the factors contributing to the struggles of education reform gives The Death and Life… the feel of a partisan account, one closely aligned with teacher union interests.(less)

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May 09, 2011 Alice rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is a very thorough look at reform in education over the past several decades. What it interesting is that the author was an ardent supporter of some of these reforms until she began to look deeper at the consequences they were having. Her final analysis to helping schools function better in America:
- have a well-rounded curriculum developed by experts and taught by teachers.
- use testing as one portion of assessment of a student's progress and not the only thing to determine whether th...more

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Apr 25, 2011 Erika Nelson rated it 2 of 5 stars

So Ravitch herein gives a terribly depressing account of various reforms tried in American education over the last couple of decades, and then tells all about how failuriffic they all were. Her account includes business-style management of school districts, No Child Left Behind, charter schools and voucher systems, and she argues that every last one of these reforms was not only a failure, but in many cases harmed the students that it tried to help. In her final wrap-up section she proposes a na...more

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Jan 30, 2011 Anthony Braxton rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was please to have this book assigned to read in a Social Justice Educators book group I belong too. I had it in the back of my “shelf” to read. I purchased the eBook so I wouldn’t have to lug the hardback across the ocean on my December tropical vacation. Some quick research will allow all readers to get an idea of Ravitch’s background and you may, like me, be a bit surprised to see her writing a book with the subtitle “How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education.” I would have thought M...more I was please to have this book assigned to read in a Social Justice Educators book group I belong too. I had it in the back of my “shelf” to read. I purchased the eBook so I wouldn’t have to lug the hardback across the ocean on my December tropical vacation. Some quick research will allow all readers to get an idea of Ravitch’s background and you may, like me, be a bit surprised to see her writing a book with the subtitle “How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education.” I would have thought Ms. Ravitch would have written a book taking the other side of this argument – that testing (accountability) and choice (free market, business orientation) would be the salvation of American public schools. Ms. Ravitch does well in the early part of the book to help the reader understand just how important it is that she has come from one side of the improving public schools debate to the other. I’m a public school administrator highly interested in and believe myself to be well read in arena of reform. The jargon and arguments around this topic are well known to me. In reading the book I got the sense that the author was making these arguments clearly and concisely so that those even marginally aware and exposed to the predominant ideas would find the book accessible and engaging. My thoughts were confirmed by a members of my book group who were new to the topic or engaged in schooling in an area that isn’t in the thick of the arguments (pre-school and after school programs).

Ms. Ravitch provides a clear deconstruction of the arguments for school choice, competition, teacher accountability linked to test scores, and many of the other currently politically affirmed “solutions” to the challenge of public schooling and points out key and, somewhat dispiritingly, fatal flaws. These solutions are either founded on faulty data, skewed by corporate influence, or impractical (if not impossible) to take to scale.

That being said, where I would find fault with the book is that it is a bit short on putting forth any workable solutions other than a generic “let the experts lead in the solutions search” approach that would almost bring one to think “really? duh!”

I do recommend this book for anyone interested in the topic to read (especially if you watched a certain documentary film about public education with Superman in the title) to provide a bit of perspective from someone who has been on both sides of the arguments for transformative change in public schooling.
(less)

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Jan 02, 2011 Beth Kleinman rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book really informed me about the recent background of American school improvement policies and initiatives. It also serves as a great contrast to movies like "Waiting for Superman" that basically blame teachers unions and tenure for our country's failing schools (I actually liked the movie, but had a few problems with it - e.g., it acts as though the students at charter schools are the same as students at public schools when charter school students come from families that have taken the in...more

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T.k. Thorne Thanks Beth for a very insightful review. I am not in the education field, but as I believe it is an absolutely critical piece of our future, I try to...more
Jan 03, 2011 02:57pm

Beth Kleinman Hi T.K.! Thanks for the nice comment. And I'm glad to see people outside of *directly* being in the education field are reading up on it --- it's grea...more
updated Jan 04, 2011 07:16am

T.k. Thorne Beth wrote: "Hi T.K.! Thanks for the nice comment. And I'm glad to see people outside of *directly* being in the education field are reading up on it...more
Jan 04, 2011 08:32am

Nov 29, 2010 B. John rated it 5 of 5 stars

Despite my long disagreement for much of Ms. Ravitch's past work concerning America's education system, I must applaud her for her inherent intellectualism (to quote Keynes: "when the facts change, I change my mind"). The book's most laudable moments come when Ms. Ravitch offers a kindly dismemberment of the heavy handed approach of so called school reformers throughout the nation, whether San Diego or New York City. As an educator it is always fair to admit that there are areas that need improv...more

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Oct 23, 2010 Matt rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: education, nonfiction

I really didn't like this book. Ravitch is a gifted writer and makes several interesting points, but the overall tone is really negative and repetitive. She really doesn't like standardized testing, No Child Left Behind, and philanthropy (at least when practiced by very rich philanthropists who target donations to policies and goals they prefer), and we're reminded of each of these points ad nauseum.
And her overall outlook is so bleak. She relentlessly (and sometime persuasively) demonstrates wh...more

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Sep 02, 2010 Alex Templeton rated it 4 of 5 stars

I’m writing a note of this book two months after I read it, and suffice it to say that the arguments Ravitch makes about the problems in modern school reform have stuck with me ever since. I think of them whenever I read the latest news article on the modern state of education. Particularly resonant was the discussion of how much of what’s going on in education, including the charter school movement, has been funded by businesspeople who have little background in education, especially the practi...more

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Jul 17, 2010 Kathleen Hulser rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ravitch eats crow. The queen of testing, bean-counting, charterism, and privatization admits she was WRONG. Is redemption possible? I guess it takes guts, since Ravitch has been the gruesome frontwoman for the deathforce that has in the name of reform smashed teaching, curriculum, school budgets and the public system in the last 15 years. But, in this book she attempts to redeem herself by actually looking at the results.
It is scary.

There is no content there. No one can answer the question: what...more Ravitch eats crow. The queen of testing, bean-counting, charterism, and privatization admits she was WRONG. Is redemption possible? I guess it takes guts, since Ravitch has been the gruesome frontwoman for the deathforce that has in the name of reform smashed teaching, curriculum, school budgets and the public system in the last 15 years. But, in this book she attempts to redeem herself by actually looking at the results.
It is scary.

There is no content there. No one can answer the question: what are the kids learning now that they didn't before. Instead of higher standards, the testing movement has given us endlessly cooked results. She is particularly sharp on how NYC, a land of math whizes and credulity about business-like data, has been deceived about results. Indeed the Big Apple turns out to be the Culinary center of cooked testing. This comes as no surprise to public school parents who have opened Board of Education envelopes that announced that notorious bozo schools got high ratings, while solid achieving schools that were placing their graduates in top high schools and colleges received average or failing ratings. So what has been going on?

Primary insight is politics, politics, politics. There is no easy answer. Some charters are good and have success, but there is no panacea, and the charters are cherry-picking leaving a flotilla of struggling students with uninformed parents to sink or swim. The dirty little secret, is the word America can't bear to hear: class. It is not race. You can get great results with African American kids and Latino kids in Harlem with moderate incomes. You can very rarely do the same with low-income kids of any color in families racked by crowding, unemployment, drugs, eviction, mental illness and a host of other ills that make it unlikely that homework is done, school attendance is pristine, bedtimes are enforced and school readiness is superb. Even the scorned bottom three-quarters of teachers ALL know this. But then the school reform movement put MBAs in charge, demonizing the teachers and denying them even a seat at the table. One of the saddest features of this very sad book is how America has dishonored the dedicated, underpaid people who are in the classrooms day after day working to get some learning across.

Ravitch is hilarious and scathing as she asks how will a system have "only the top three-quarters of teachers teaching?" And when will the general public substitute achievable school reform goals for the absurdly unrealistic but politically seductive goals of all children becoming above average (the Lake Wobegone World so lacking in self-knowledge that it fails to realize it is satire)? One can suppose that the manifest edukatunal shortcomings of W's adminstration made No Child Left Behind a bipartisan political package -- I never understood the garbled and empty language of it. But Ravitch has visited the Potemkin Villages across the land, and we have but to weep.(less)

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Jul 14, 2010 April Helms rated it 4 of 5 stars

A very depressing book. Ravitch, who once supported the concept of national testing and No Child Left Behind, speaks out against such philosophies in her book as time passed and they proved ineffective. She divides the issues -- testing, restructuring the schools, charter schools and how they are set up now, relying on grants and funds from a few powerful men to set educational change -- by chapter. The book is easy to follow and the data seems concrete and supported. There were few surprises in...more

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Jul 11, 2010 Lars Lofgren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Drawing on numerous empirical studies, Ravitch reviews the findings that have dramatically changed her perspective of education policy. Initially an ardent support of the choice, accountability, and charter school reforms, Ravitch has come to steadfastly oppose such reforms. This book is her account for how this occurred. The major developments within education, including the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), are all discussed and analyzed. Ravitch debases the arguments put forth by propo...more Drawing on numerous empirical studies, Ravitch reviews the findings that have dramatically changed her perspective of education policy. Initially an ardent support of the choice, accountability, and charter school reforms, Ravitch has come to steadfastly oppose such reforms. This book is her account for how this occurred. The major developments within education, including the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), are all discussed and analyzed. Ravitch debases the arguments put forth by proponents of school reform, arguing that the most effective way to encourage efficient and excellent schools is to start with a clear and thorough curriculum.

Response:

The vast majority of Ravitch's book shows a great depth of understanding, experience, and care for developments within education. However, one topic within the book has not been given the same degree of research and analysis, the role of foundations in education policy. While Ravitch clearly proves her claim that prominent foundations, such as the Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation, have disproportionately influenced education policy, Ravitch debases her argument by claiming these foundations have obtained enough power and influence to boldly shape education policy unrestricted and without critique. She blatantly states that these foundations "are accountable to no one" (201) and the Gates Foundation has given substantial amounts of money throughout the education industry, eliminating the possibility for measured dissent (210-211).

Contrary to this alarmist perspective, the Gates Foundation is still beholden to school boards to accept their grants and policies, giving their voters indirect control of any adoption of education policy. Substantial sums of money may reduce the willingness to question policy recommendations but these foundations do not represent a new oligarchy within the American political arena that can indefinitely sway policy adoption. Such a claim would require a great deal of evidence to support.

Furthermore, Ravitch fails to discuss how charter schools can be adapted to fit within a broader framework of education. She meticulously discusses the stratification they produce by attracting students with the greatest potential while encouraging struggling students to go elsewhere but does not consider if this characteristic of charter schools can be harnessed. By allowing charter schools to educate highly motivated students, public schools may have more resources to specifically address the needs of students that require more individualized instruction.

This counterpoint also deserves a great deal of depth. Such an assertion assumes that struggling students will not learn delinquent behavior from each other and increase their participation in delinquency. Several theories of criminology, the learning theories, state that delinquency is the result of close proximity to other delinquent peers in combination with a lack of norms and definitions that favor conventional behavior. Taking the learning theory of delinquency into account, separating "good" students from struggling students may increase the rate of delinquency instead of helping it. A complete and thorough discussion of charter schools and their impacts on communities is needed before they can be advocated for or discarded. Their purpose, strengths, and weaknesses must also be clarified.

Bottom Line:

Anyone interested in education policy whether they be educators, parents, policy-makers, or NGOs must read this book. Ravitch covers a great deal of data on education and her arguments must not go unanalyzed. In short, Ravitch has crafted a book that serves as an excellent starting point for those delving deeper into the intricacies of education policy.

For more reviews and a summary of Ravitch's main points, find us at Hand of Reason.(less)

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Jul 07, 2010 Eric Benzel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: education

This is a really powerful analysis of the school reforms of the last thirty years. I would agree with many others in saying that this is a must read for anyone who is interested in public education right now.

I especially appreciated the elucidation of assessment and accountability reforms. Ravitch reveals the a side of testing we don't often hear in the political scene. I do think she was a little too vague and critical of merit pay, however, which is trying to go past simple test score gains. I...more

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Jul 02, 2010 Newengland rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: finished-in-2010, teaching

Anyone with an interest in education should read Ravitch's polemic against the road our schools are headed down. If you're a teacher looking for classroom tips, forget it. This is all argument, persuasion, statistics, and rhetoric. A well-respected historian of education, Ravitch once played for the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) team, but now she's on our team (I use "our" for "teachers'," assuming that most teachers oppose the fallout that has occured from NCLB).

Ravitch changed her mind about hig...more Anyone with an interest in education should read Ravitch's polemic against the road our schools are headed down. If you're a teacher looking for classroom tips, forget it. This is all argument, persuasion, statistics, and rhetoric. A well-respected historian of education, Ravitch once played for the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) team, but now she's on our team (I use "our" for "teachers'," assuming that most teachers oppose the fallout that has occured from NCLB).

Ravitch changed her mind about high-stakes testing, charter schools, school choice, etc., because the evidence was mounting against the same. SOMEone eloquent had to put the message together. Ravitch is that someone -- but she has her work cut out for her. So entrenched is the "business model can cure educational problems" mindset that I'm not sure many will even pay attention to this book. And it may amount to "preaching to the choir" if only people like me are buying it. THE DEATH AND LIFE OF THE GREAT AMERICAN SCHOOL SYSTEM needs to be read by President Obama, Secretary Duncan, Bill and Melinda Gates, and 50 governors. It needs to be read by superintendents, principals, and state commissioners of education. It needs to be read, then, by people with the power to stop the madness.

What exactly IS the madness? For one, the culture of fear that NCLB has unleashed. Schools that fail to reach certain scores in "X" number of years will be shuttered. Ravitch argues that neighborhood schools are important to communities and need HELP, not threats. The NCLB requirement that all students be "proficient" by 2014. Ravitch argues this is ludicrous and no one in education believes it possible. The fact that charter schools are springing up left and right and speeding the end for public schools that cannot compete. Ravitch argues they cannot compete because charters do not take on anywhere near the number of English language learners and special education students AND can dismiss any student who repeatedly flunks or fails to attend school. Who has to take these students in by law? Correct. The public school.

Ravitch takes on just about every hot button steaming in this mess. I especially love how she goes after the billionaires who are plowing money into education by chasing fads. Bill Gates, for instance, spent years pouring money into smaller highs schools, only to admit after the fact that it was all for naught. Undeterred, he's now spending new money on new fads -- stats that track teachers of children scoring high marks on standardized tests. Ravitch picks that apart as well and asks the question that no one else dares to: Why do tycoons get to demand accountability of schools when they themselves are accountable to no one? They spend their money however they damn well please, with no input from the experts (uh, teachers, or the last possible suspects in some of these clowns' eyes), parents, or the public at large. Hypocrisy, of course. Can you imagine high stakes testing for politicians? How sweet would THAT be? Suddenly, Senator So and So would see how something so complex cannot be judged by so subjective and flawed a device as a test.

Sigh.

Anyway, if you want to be informed about the latest debate raging in educational circles, this is your book. Thank you, Diane, for admitting you were wrong. After the G.W. Bush Administration, it's refreshing to see.(less)

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Jun 14, 2010 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was reluctant to buy Diane Ravitch's The Death and Life of the Great American School System in part because she had worked for the Bush administration and I had heard that she had been a supporter of testing for accountability and charter schools. I was not thrilled to being buying a book that I thought would be allowing her to profit from the egregious acts that have been committed in the name of education reform in recent years. However, she admits to her erroneous ways and does thorough jo...more

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Jun 06, 2010 Sunday rated it 5 of 5 stars

I decided to buy my own copy of this book after reading Chapter 8 "The Trouble with Accountability." Ravitch nails the problems with judging schools based on their test scores - tests are flawed, teaching to the tests can make the results invalid, test scores can vary in unpredictable ways (the weather, students' state of mind, distractions, other conditions), etc and then on top of that to assume that school A gets better results than school B because of better quality instruction is a flawed t...more

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May 27, 2010 Josiah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

The book elicited a lot of thoughts and reactions from me due to the subject matter, the writing, and the author's opinions. This is the main reason why I read any book and so I must call it a roaring success.

I admit I bought this book for the title. I didn't even read the description. I wanted to read about how education is being undermined because like most of the world I was and am largely dissatisfied with it. This largely held dissatisfaction has helped various organizations and government...more The book elicited a lot of thoughts and reactions from me due to the subject matter, the writing, and the author's opinions. This is the main reason why I read any book and so I must call it a roaring success.

I admit I bought this book for the title. I didn't even read the description. I wanted to read about how education is being undermined because like most of the world I was and am largely dissatisfied with it. This largely held dissatisfaction has helped various organizations and government members gain support and sympathy when they express similar complaints. This widely shared dissatisfaction will also likely help sell this book. This book didn't spend much time addressing my specific complaints which are largely ideological or ontological and at times political (although again ideologically). However, I was not unsatisfied with the abundance of material to rue over, spit fiery fumes at, or solemnly nod in agreement.

In my mind this book is divided in parts (although the author didn't say so specifically).
1- Author's introduction
2- A history of (and apology for) some of her past positions. This section was a bit one-sided, I suspect because the author is in dialogue with some issues she past campaigned for and now regrets. It can become a little overwhelming. As important as I feel education is, sometimes it seems she is talking about war crimes and the slave trade.
3- Presentation and history of the fundamental issues in education today (choice, accountability, reform, etc). These are presented more evenly, though the author's opinion is clearly felt.
4- The author's new conclusions

I made a lot of underlines and notes about this text (47 according to my kindle), which I doubt I have time to write down all now. I was especially amazed that Japan was lauded and now I must track down some book on the Japanese educational system. I can't imagine a worse system to try and imitate. From my notes: "If we admit the facade masking real learning resulting from standardized tests, can't we see the potential damage to all fields of curriculum if we expand this standardization?" In Japan I can write a character on the whiteboard and know how old the children in my class are based on who can read it. That's how normalized the education is. It's not unusual for children to make remarks like "2nd years don't have to know that", "You should have learned that in 3rd year", "We don't have to know this". Seriously, I could rant for hours on almost any one of my notes. And for that I really appreciate this book. I love rant fodder.

I may add some other notes later.(less)

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Quotes from The Death and Life of ...

“Can teachers successfully educate children to think for themselves if teachers are not treated as professionals who think for themselves?” — 16 people liked it

“Our schools will not improve if we continue to focus only on reading and mathematics while ignoring the other studies that are essential elements of a good education. Schools that expect nothing more of their students than mastery of basic skills will not produce graduates who are ready for college or the modern workplace.

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Our schools will not improve if we value only what tests measure. The tests we have now provide useful information about students' progress in reading and mathematics, but they cannot measure what matters most in education....What is tested may ultimately be less important that what is untested...

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Our schools will not improve if we continue to close neighborhood schools in the name of reform. Neighborhood schools are often the anchors of their communities, a steady presence that helps to cement the bond of community among neighbors.

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Our schools cannot improve if charter schools siphon away the most motivated students and their families in the poorest communities from the regular public schools.

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Our schools will not improve if we continue to drive away experienced principals and replace them with neophytes who have taken a leadership training course but have little or no experience as teachers.

***

Our schools cannot be improved if we ignore the disadvantages associated with poverty that affect children's ability to learn. Children who have grown up in poverty need extra resources, including preschool and medical care.” — 5 people liked it

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The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education

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