Has education reform jumped the shark? A teacher says 'yes'

[proud2BlibKansan]

This post was written by Anthony Cody, a science teacher in inner-city Oakland for 18 years who now works with a team of experienced science teacher-coaches who support the many novice teachers in his school district. It originally appeared on the Teacher Magazine’s website, here. Cody is a National Board-certified teacher and an active member of the Teacher Leaders Network. You can read more by Cody at his website, Teachers Lead.

By Anthony Cody
Education reformers have invested billions of dollars in numerous ventures that promote their vision, and we'll see them in the next few weeks. The release of the documentary Waiting for Superman, NBC’s Education Nation specials and teacher town hall, and D.C. Schools Superintendent Michelle Rhee and Bill Gates on The Oprah Winfrey Show -- all will create a crescendo of voices, images and the master narrative that has been carefully developed over the past decade

That narrative goes like this: Our schools are failing. The only way to save them is to expand charters, remove due process for teachers so they can be fired, and further raise the stakes on standardized test scores.

But ideologically driven projects like this have a way of over reaching, over-promising, and overestimating their strength. And the moment that they reach their apex is actually the moment they begin to collapse. Education reform has finally jumped the shark.

The signs of its imminent collapse are all around us.

They begin with the fundamental problem the education reform movement faces. We are more than 10 years into a massive reform effort revolving around high stakes attached to standardized tests, and there is no significant growth in actual learning -- even in terms of the test scores most valued by proponents.

more . . . http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/guest-bloggers/has-education-reform-jumped-th.html

[Starry Messenger]

1. k & r

Oakland has been through this movie already. They started getting the Broad assault a few years ago.

[izquierdista]

2. Not so sure...

I remember thinking in 1988 that Repubs had jumped the shark and the collapse of the Bush campaign was imminent. Even when Repubs are down and out, it's a good idea to get out the hammer and the vampire stakes.