This is a translation of an article which appeared in September 2024 in Education Week. The original English version of the article also appears on this site. In English the title of the article is Federal Education Reform Has Largely Failed. Unfortunately, We Still Need It. La Reforma Educativa Federal
Fatigued by School Reform, by Jack Jennings After a half-a-century of school reform, a majority of Americans consider the public schools as worse today than when they attended school. Those reforms missed the mark because they were not focused on the backgrounds of the students’ parents–by far the most important
“(A)n education system flush with cash but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge.” President Trump broadcast this biting condemnation in his inaugural address. A short time later, Trump proposed cutting education spending by 13%. Squeezing extravagance out of public schools apparently is his goal. Trump’s
No other federal law has generated more hostility from teachers and other educators than the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). That statute has been denounced for causing too much testing of school children, making teachers “teach to the test” to avoid penalties, and mandating the use of unproven improvement
Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson launched a campaign to improve education, especially of children from low-income families. An unprecedented billion dollars of new aid was sent to the schools under the first part or “title” of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. In subsequent years, Title I
Congress is finally grappling with which parts of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) ought to be repealed or retained. Various officials, and the president who must sign the final agreement, have different lists. After the squabbling, a shadow of a national school improvement policy will remain with nothing
A blizzard of education reports and studies appears every year. This swirl of information, analysis, and commentary — some of which is contradictory — makes it difficult to understand the condition of America’s public schools. In short, are the schools getting better or worse? In December of 2013, two major
Two basic functions are essential to democratic societies: educating the young and defending citizens from attack. But in the U.S. today, quite different attitudes have developed about each of these functions. In a nutshell, our nation’s schools are considered failures, while the armed forces are beyond reproach. This double standard
