Free market will not fix America’s failing schools

[AlphaCentauri]

From US Rep Michael Honda.

Sir, Clive Crook is right to note the crisis in our education system (“America’s classroom equality battle”, May 11), but wrong in his prescription for a free-market fix. As a former teacher, principal and school board member, I find the McKinsey report’s findings unsurprising but important nonetheless. The report reignites the need for education reform, and none too soon. Our performance and achievement numbers are falling fast, ill-preparing us for sustained global leadership.

A free-market fix will not solve a chronic problem with our system: that each child is not equally advantaged. A market-based approach will not ameliorate economic disparities. Our highest-spending school district spends more than nine times per pupil than the lowest-spending district. Children raised in low-income communities carry the burden of an under-funded learning environment, where the basics – paper, books, pencils – are absent from the classroom. According to McKinsey, the narrowing of these economic disparities would have raised our 2008 gross domestic product by between $400bn and $670bn.

Racial disparities also remain unaddressed by free-market reform. Students of colour and youth from low-income neighbourhoods will remain acutely affected. African-American, Hispanic and Native American high school students have, at best, a six out of 10 chance of graduating on time with a diploma. At least half of all Cambodians, Laotians and Hmong aged 25 and older have less than a high school education.

Mr Crook is right that our education funding formulas are outdated. They rely on factors such as average daily attendance, average costs for “regular” students and concentrations of low-income, special-education and English language learner students. But to fix this problem we must, instead, individualise instruction to meet each child’s needs, supporting their needs so they may achieve maximum potential regardless of where they go to school. And we must make sure that inequalities stemming from economics or race must also be addressed or we will continue to underperform nationally and globally.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/93bf5012-3f58-11de-ae4f-00144feabdc0.html

[dkf]

1. Kids need educated parents too.

I'd say that is a huge factor in how a child does. There is no excuse for a parent not having a decent education. Our goal needs to be life long learning anyway.

[elleng]

3. 'each child is not equally advantaged'

encompasses your concern.

[dkf]

4. Yes but they say it like it can't be changed.

But it can. That is something that a parent can work on instead of bemoaning the consequences on their child.

[elleng]

5. That is if the parent is informed and educated,

which is often not the case.

[izzie]

2. But you must be wrong. It has worked so well for the prisons and

even the military service is trying it. Fun, all the CEO's go home with the profits.