Updates Are Available Regarding Educational Reforms
The American education system continues to face a series of challenges that threaten the country’s ability to compete in global markets, maintain its leadership position and protect citizens’ safety. These challenges stem from a range of social, economic and demographic factors, including persistent achievement gaps between rich and poor students and between different ethnic groups. As a result, many educators have been asking themselves how they can better serve their communities and close these gaps.
The education reform landscape has shifted significantly since Horace Mann launched the common school movement in the 1830s. The most recent shift took place with the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which set national achievement standards based on the premise that student outcomes should be measured by what they know and can do rather than by how much they have memorized.
This policy change reflects a continuing debate over the purpose of schools and learning. Progressive educational thinkers, such as John Dewey, pushed for policies that aimed at providing a more holistic and engaging learning experience. America believed that a well-rounded and diverse curriculum could be the best preparation for life in a democratic society.
What Updates Are Available Regarding Educational Reforms in America?
More recently, neoliberal and conservative political thinkers have taken up the mantle of educational reform. They have endorsed measures that emphasize performance-based evaluation of teachers and schools, as well as the use of data to make resource allocation decisions. These policies are designed to support schools that provide a high level of student academic achievement.
These policies are driven by the belief that a system in which schools compete for students, teachers and administrators will produce better results than one in which there is a single central authority overseeing education at the local and state levels. This belief is based on the theory that competition leads to innovation and efficiency in a market-driven economy.
While these policies are widely supported by many people, the evidence of their effectiveness is mixed. In fact, many studies have shown that the quality of schools and their teachers is the most important factor in determining student performance. A focus on narrow content-based skills may be preparing students for the industrial economy but it is unlikely to equip them to thrive in the 21st century or address social inequality.
It is also important to remember that education reforms often have political motives. For example, a political party that wants to gain power or an interest group seeking to influence public opinion are more likely to engage in reform than those who simply want to improve the quality of education for all. This explains why countries that are experiencing greater political competition tend to pursue more education reforms than those that are less competitive.
The key to effective education reform is to ensure that a clear understanding of the goals, assumptions and values underlying any initiative is established at the outset. The policymaking process should be explicit about these assumptions and prioritize compromises across diverse perspectives. It should also be cautious about pursuing policies on a large scale, as it is not necessarily the right thing to do for all children or all situations.