Richard Rothstein has written an essay for Cato Unbound debunking the 1983 Nation at Risk report that has driven the so-called education reform efforts of the last 25-plus years. Rothstein is a research associate of the Economic Policy Institute. From 1999 to 2002 he was the national education columnist of The New York Times. He is the author of Grading Education: Getting Accountability Right (Teachers College Press and EPI, 2008) and Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic and Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap (Teachers College Press 2004). With his extensive background in education policy analysis, Rothstein is an important voice in the current debate regarding the re-authorization of NCLB.
This article, written two years ago, should be “must reading” for school board members, legislators and school administrators. It clearly points out the futility of the current reform efforts that narrow the curriculum to improve reading and math scores at the expense of the whole child. It further points out the error of suggested ties of such scores to the economic well being of the U.S.
Here are the first two paragraphs to set the tone. Rothstein follows with clear evidence to support each of his three contentions.
“In 1983, A Nation at Risk misidentified what is wrong with our public schools and consequently set the nation on a school reform crusade that has done more harm than good.”
“The diagnosis of the National Commission on Excellence in Education was flawed in three respects: First, it wrongly concluded that student achievement was declining. Second, it placed the blame on schools for national economic problems over which schools have relatively little influence. Third, it ignored the responsibility of the nation’s other social and economic institutions for learning.”
Note that Rothstein does not believe the reforms of the last 25 years have not been benign, but that they are harmful (and continue to be harmful to the very children they were supposed to help. It is time to stand up and announce that the Emperor has no clothes!
Rothstein’s analysis validates the experience of classroom teachers who know from their their daily contact with students what works with kids. Teachers know, as well, the damage done to education by narrowing the curriculum. All students need and benefit from participation in exploratory and elective classes addressing different learning styles. Helping students identify their aptitudes and interests, engaging them with purpose and making their learning meaningful as it applies to their lives and potential careers is essential to their success in school. Kennewick needs to offer more and better classes to middle and high school students. For example, the special offerings at Delta High School should be more widely available to students in all Kennewick schools.