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The Death and Life of The Great American School System
How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education
Book Summary
Discusses how school choice, misapplied standards of accountability, the No Child Left Behind mandate, and the use of a corporate model have all led to a decline in public education and presents arguments for a return to strong neighborhood schools and quality teaching.
Genres:
This book is about:
- School choice,
- Educational tests and measurements,
- Educational accountability,
- Public schools,
- United States
NPR stories about The Death and Life of The Great American School System
Education
Education Expert Turning Her Back On No Child Left Behind?
April 28, 2011 Former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch explains why she was once an early advocate of No Child Left Behind, school vouchers and charter schools — and what changed her mind.
Book Reviews
The 'Great American School System' Flunks Out
March 16, 2010 Diane Ravitch's Death and Life of the Great American School System is a scathing report card of U.S. education. The former assistant secretary of education hands down a withering critique of the nation's schooling efforts — from charter schools, to No Child Left Behind, to Teach for America.
What We're Reading
What We're Reading, March 9-15
March 9, 2010 Is the biblically inspired Angelology the next Da Vinci Code? James Hynes' Next causes us to inaugurate the genre "Mick lit" (think middle-aged men and the Rolling Stones). A prominent advocate of No Child Left Behind reverses course. And ace spy John Wells is back, undercover and in deep.
Education
Former 'No Child Left Behind' Advocate Turns Critic
March 2, 2010 Once a conservative advocate for the No Child Left Behind Act, Diane Ravitch has had a change in opinion. The former Bush administration education official has written a book spelling out the law's missteps and adverse effects on the U.S. education system.
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