Failure: The Federal Miseducation of America's Children

by Vicki E. Alger

For nearly 100 years the federal government left education almost entirely in the hands of the citizenry and state and local governments. But in 1979, with the creation of the US Department of Education, a sprawling bureaucracy with 153 programs, 5,000 employees, and an annual budget of approximately $70 billion, the federal government intruded itself into almost every area of K-12 and higher education. What caused this dramatic transformation? Has it improved student performance? And how can we best ensure that America’s students will get the education they need for thriving in an increasingly competitive, global economy? Education policy expert Vicki E. Alger shows that federal involvement in education has been an epic failure—a failure of programs, a fiscal failure, and a failure with educators, parents, and students. Alger assesses, identifies, and articulates the best strategy for success—namely, decentralizing education policy by ending federal involvement, returning power to state and local governments, and implementing parental choice for the citizenry.  No matter where you stand on issues such as Common Core, school vouchers, federal mandates, or state sovereignty, Failure will provide insight and inspiration needed for bold solutions to our educational challenges.  Alger takes up all of these issues and questions in The Federal Miseducation of America’s Children , an in-depth look at federal education policy that will enlighten and inspire reform to truly meet student needs, cut out bureaucracy, and foster flexibility and choice.

Genres: Education

496 pages, Hardcover

Published July 1, 2016

Reviews

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure there are educators out there who will love looking through all this academic stuff. I;m not one. I wasn't expecting a light read, but nothing this heavy either. The cover and blurb seem a bit misleading. Loads of info and it seems very concise, just not one for me.
I received a Kindle Arc n exchange for a fair review from Netgalley.

[Lorinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This comprehensive overview of the Department of Education is a bit dry but informative. The author draws from extensive research to describe the history of the Department of Education, the political battles over its becoming a cabinet-level department, and how since 1979 it has been a boondoggle for every president.

This department has basically been a money pit and has left student achievement scores stagnate since the 1970s.

In contrast to this US failure, author Vicki E. Alger describes how the nations with highest achieving students became successful. The key is school choice for parents. When schools must compete for students, just as businesses must compete for customers, everyone wins.

The author provides a chapter citing school choice examples that some states have enacted and have proven to raise scores on standardized tests and graduation rates.

The book also touches on higher education and the need to privatize the student loan programs.

In conclusion, Alger calls for the dismantling of the Ed Department, to which I agree.

[Larissa Hinton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book for free from NetGalley.

I really wanted to like this book because as an educator, this topic is very close to my heart. I wanted to know the true reason as to why our education system was failing. Yet as I read over this book, I didn't get to the heart of the matter. This book was just written clinically. It was as if the author wanted to write a textbook about the reason instead of delving into it from each level of people who are involved (the student, the teacher, and the administration).

The heart was missing out of this book. As I read, I just couldn't fathom why this author wanted to write about this topic. Why does this topic matter to her? Why should it matter at all? Some people don't even have children, why should they care?

I just failed to understand why this author took this approach to a topic. It just seemed so dry and lacking any type of passion beyond the basics of data and the results.

I think this book has amazing potential to be great, but the approach to the topic is what really left a bad taste in my mouth.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 STARS

I really enjoyed reading this book, but I have to give fair warning...it isn't for everybody. The book consists of data and research and history - and reads much like a very long research article. It's also very politically heavy. I like research articles, and found the history detailed in the book to be extremely intriguing. There is so much history in the education system, all of it contributing to the way we teach today, and we don't really pay attention to it. I found the book to be very enlightening when it comes to the politics that have shaped the system as well. It is well written and extremely informative.

**I received an Advanced Electronic Copy of Failure: The Federal Miseducation of America's Children for free through NetGalley**
**This review is based on an uncorrected proof, the novel is subject to change until publication**