copyright © allyn & bacon 20071 chapter 12 school reform this multimedia product and its...

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 1

Chapter 12School Reform

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“… THE EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS OF OUR SOCIETY ARE PRESENTLY BEING ERODED BY A RISING TIDE OF MEDIOCRITY THAT THREATENS OUR VERY FUTURE AS A NATION AND A PEOPLE. WHAT WAS UNIMAGINABLE A GENERATION AGO HAS BEGUN TO HAPPEN – OTHERS ARE MATCHING AND SURPASSING OUR EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTS.

IF AN UNFRIENDLY POWER HAD ATTEMPTED TO IMPOSE ON AMERICA THE MEDIOCRE EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE THAT EXISTS TODAY, WE MIGHT WELL HAVE VIEWED IT AS AN ACT OF WAR. AS IT STANDS, WE HAVE ALLOWED THIS TO HAPPEN TO OURSELVES.”

1. DO YOU RECOGNIZE THIS STATEMENT?

2. WHERE IS IT FROM? National Commission on Excellence in Education. A Nation at Risk: The

Imperative for Educational Reform.(1983)

3. HOW DO YOU REACT TO THE ABOVE STATEMENT?

Do You Believe That Schools Should be Restructured?

How? What Should They Be Like?

Restructuring Influences Political

American youth lag behind other countries Economic

American youth are unprepared for the technical demands of the workplace

Cognitive Research How the brain works Multiple Intelligence & Learning Styles

Constructivist Learning Theory & Research How students actively produce knowledge & understanding The science of teaching

Restructuring Influences

Philosophy & Sociology Knowledge is a social, political, cultural construct Knowledge is tentative - open to change

Research in Academic Disciplines NCTM & AAAS

Curriculum Theory & Research Identifies and attempts to remove cultural, gender and class bias

from the curriculum Pluralism & Inclusion

Multiculturalism, Bilingual, Special Education

Restructuring Influences

Research on AssessmentPerformance and Authentic

Research on Professional PracticeTeachers are pretty smart and should be utilized

Research on Second-Order ChangeSystemic ChangeCultural Change

If you were to design a school to have all students performing at grade level proficiency:

How would it be organized?How would students be instructed (taught)?How will you measure your results?

Which 2 would you choose?Which 2 would you choose?1.1. Knowledge in one disciplineKnowledge in one discipline

2. Application within discipline2. Application within discipline3. Application across 3. Application across

disciplinesdisciplines4. Application to real-world 4. Application to real-world

predictable situationspredictable situations5. Application to real-world 5. Application to real-world

unpredictable situationsunpredictable situations

International Center for Leadership in Education

Knowledge TaxonomyKnowledge Taxonomy

1.1. Awareness (Knowledge)Awareness (Knowledge)2.2. Comprehension Comprehension 3.3. ApplicationApplication4.4. AnalysisAnalysis5.5. Synthesis Synthesis 6.6. EvaluationEvaluation

1 2 3 4 5

ApplicationApplication

KnowledgeKnowledge

1

2

3

4

5

6

Rigor/Relevance FrameworkRigor/Relevance Framework

LevelsLevels

CC DD

AA BB 1 2 3 4 5

456

321

Bloom’sBloom’s


Guiding PrinciplesGuiding Principles ResponsibilityResponsibility ContemplationContemplation InitiativeInitiative PerseverancePerseverance OptimismOptimism CourageCourage

RespectRespect CompassionCompassion AdaptabilityAdaptability HonestyHonesty TrustworthinessTrustworthiness LoyaltyLoyalty

CurriculumCurriculum RigorRigor RelevanceRelevance RelationshipsRelationships

• Reflective ThoughtReflective Thought

LevelsLevels

CC DD

AA BB 1 2 3 4 5

456

321

Bloom’sBloom’s


Rigor/Relevance - AllRigor/Relevance - All

WhyWhy

Do We Need Do We Need

to Changeto Change

Schools?Schools?

WhatWhat

Needs to Needs to

Be Done?Be Done?

HowHow

Do We DoDo We Do

It?It?

International Center for Leadership in Education, Inc.and

Successful Practices Network

Phone (518) 399-2776

E-mail [email protected]

www.LeaderEd.com


School Reform

The major theoretical strategies for school reform efforts (See Chapter 7):Empirical-rational strategies.Power-coercive strategies.Organizational self-renewal strategies.


Market-Based School Reform

Supported by market-oriented theorists and private sector investors.

John Chubb and Terry Moe wrote a popular book, Politics, Markets, and America's Schools, published in 1990 by The Brookings Institution.

They argued that market-based schools would foster the autonomy schools need to be effective.

To shift control of schools from government to the marketplace, they recommended providing guardians of every student with a voucher they could use in any school, public or private.


Economic Theory and School Reform

Milton Friedman, an economist, designed the concept of school vouchers.

Friedman’s views that favor public works in free markets to stimulate the economy were in contrast to John Maynard Keynes (Keynesian economics).

Keynes advocated public works and government spending in free markets to stimulate employment and the economy.

Friedman pioneered the idea of open markets without government interference or control.


Economic Theory and School Reform (continued)

The scope of free markets taking control of education would be enormous.

The free market theory is based on the belief that individuals will make a rational choice in their own economic self interest. It does not consider motivation, collaboration, conflict management and other human issues in the workplace.


Economic Theory and School Reform (continued)

Supporters of market-based approaches include:William Raspberry, Washington Post syndicated

columnist.Thomas Sowell, economist and syndicated

columnist.Andrew Coulson, author of Market Education: The

Unknown History.


School Reform as Investment Opportunity

Many individuals and businesses have invested for profit in educational initiatives: Michael Milken—former junk bond king. Paul Allen—founder of Microsoft with Bill Gates. William Bennett—former Secretary of Education. Advantage Schools. Beacon Educational Management. Edison Schools—one of the largest.

Started by Christopher Whittle, who started Channel One. Benno Schmidt—CEO of Edison and former President of Yale.

Education Alternatives Incorporated (EAI). University of Phoenix—Largest private university.


Standards-Based School Reform

Since the right to an education was not established by the US Constitution, the states guaranteed public education in their state Constitutions.

All states initially chose to decentralize public schools putting them in the hands of local authorities.

Local Education Agencies (LEAs) had much control of education until the 1990s.

The first summit on education in 1989 started the movement toward more centralized control focusing on state standards.


Standards-Based School Reform (continued)

Two additional summit meetings continued pushing for state control of education resulting in state “report cards” comparing states on test scores across states, comparing districts within states, and schools within districts.

States and districts also began using high-stakes testing for students to qualify for promotion and/or graduating high school.

Little attention has been paid to the effects of testing at the school level, students daily lives, curriculum & instruction, or student educational & career planning.


Whole School Reform

Whole school reform is predicated on:Top-down methods have not been very successful.Demonstrated success of individual school renewal

efforts. Systemic reform efforts, orchestrated by state

or local district offices, that have attempted to mandate individual school reform efforts have not worked very well.


Increasing School Autonomy

One solution to the problems of systemic reform was site-based management in which individual schools have more authority in decision making.

This reform effort has had mixed results due to lack of true decentralization of authority with freedom to use budgets as needed in individual schools.

Nonetheless, school reform is recognized as having a better chance of success when the local district offices encourage individual school staff to collaborate in problem solving, i.e., to create growth-enhancing environments.


Increasing School Autonomy (continued)

This fusion of state and district control of standards and empowerment of individual schools may be the new amalgam that Giamatti had described.

This amalgam was suggested in 1999 by the Education Commission of the States report, Governing America's Schools: Changing the Rules, that identified two approaches: Institutionalize site-based management allowing schools to

prepare their own budgets and allocate resources as needed. Authorize publicly funded, but independently owned and

operated schools under charters granted by the school district.



Both approaches call for: Strengthening, not discarding, the public school system. Allowing money to follow the child. Providing information on students, teachers, and school

performance to parents. Giving parents more choice. Granting schools control of personnel and budgets. Focusing accountability systems on achievement. Redefining the role of teachers’ unions. Strengthening the role of school boards.



These approaches provide greater opportunity for school leaders to be more effective in making a difference, while increasing their responsibility for results.

To be effective, school leaders need to reach out, connect with people and use collaborative methods in selecting problem-solving strategies for schools.



Three examples of whole school reforms that have shown positive results: Coalition of Essential Schools—Ted Sizer. Accelerated Schools—Stanford University. Comer School Development Program—James Comer.

Additional whole school reform projects described at: http://www.aasa.org/issues_and_insights/

district_organization/Reform/approach.htm


Teacher Education and School Reform

There has also been increased focus on teacher education to prepare for the looming shortage.

John Goodlad’s National Network for Educational Renewal calls for the renewal of schools and teacher education.

American Council on Education has called for the strengthening of teacher education and research on teacher education.

Goodlad and ACE’s proposals may be more potent in the reform of US education than we suspect.

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