Three books about education reform
Posted by | Posted on 17-08-2010
Now that the Obama administration has invited the states to compete for $5 billion in stimulus funds, the winners will not be those that come up with the best reform ideas, but those that agree to do what the administration wants: create privately managed charter schools, evaluate teachers by their students’ test scores, and close low-performing schools. Since so much power and money are arrayed on one side of the issue, it is useful to consider some dissenting views. These three books have the power to change the national discussion of what now passes for “school reform.”
1 Linda Darling-Hammond’s “The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future” (Teachers College, $21.95) contains a valuable lode of practical and research-based advice about how to improve our schools.