EDUCATION IN THE U.S.
Background
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Every U.S citizen is guaranteed access to free public
education from kindergarten to high school graduation
Fall 2012-2013 school year public
elementary/secondary schools would spend on average
more than $11,000 per student
U.S public education has transformed from system
designed to provide students with basic knowledge to
one that provides them with tools to succeed in a global
economy
Background
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Out of 34 most developed nation U.S ranks 26th in
early childhood education and 28th in high school
graduation rates- 23% failing to get a diploma
Therefore in recent years there has been a push to
reform public education so that there will be
improvements to schools while also equipping students
for competition in a global workforce
Movement to Reform Education
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In 1980s Reagan ran for president vowing to shut down
the Dept of Education- believed that federal gov’t
should stay out of education and leave schooling to
states
After election Secretary of Education wanted to study
the condition of U.S. schools before pulling federal
influence
Est a “Blue Ribbon” panel to travel the country and
observe how schools were doing
“A Nation at Risk”
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1983 the National Commission on Excellence in
Education issued ‘A Nation At Risk’- negative critique of
U.S. public education
The report called for:
 increased
graduation requirements
 longer school days/years
 greater teacher accountability
 Increased role for federal government in education
School Choice and Vouchers
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Traditionally public school students could only attend
public school in their neighborhood
As arguments arose that this trapped kids to failing
schools policymakers began proposing school choice
programs
Parents receive a state or federal grant (voucher) to
help them pay for their child’s education at a private
school of their choosing
Originally started in VT and ME since late 19th ce
because rural towns lacked nearby public schools
School Choice and Vouchers
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Today 12 states including DC accept voucher programs
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Of those, 8 offer to students with special needs
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4 states and DC offer vouchers to low-income students and
those attending failing schools
2 states offer vouchers to selected rural students
http://www.ncsl.org/research/education/voucher-lawcomparison.aspx
Charter Schools
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Born in 1992 when City Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota
first opened its doors as nation’s 1st independently
operated charter school
Exempt from many state and local regulations- created
by developers to pursue specific educational goals
Must abide by federal laws regarding equal rights,
access and discrimination
Charter Schools
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Students attend charters free of charge by choice of
parents
41 states and DC have charter school laws including
who can authorize and hold them accountable for their
performance
http://www.nj.gov/education/chartsch/allcharters.htm
Charter Schools vs Public Schools
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Funded with public money but they generally operate
outside of collective bargaining agreements (only about
one-tenth of charter schools are unionized) and other
constraints that many feel prevent principals in public
schools from innovating for the good of their students
In exchange for more freedom they get less funding and
have to prove they are making good on the promised set
out in their charter- usually showing improvements in test
scores
Charter schools can look for private donations
What Makes a Charter School
Effective?
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According to the National Bureau of Economic Research:
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Frequent teacher feedback
Data-driven instruction
Intensified tutoring
Increased instructional time
High expectations
These 5 points can explain roughly half of the variation between more effective
and less effective schools
Data gathered on 35 charter schools that vary widely in their approach to
teaching and learning
However study comes with two important warnings
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The 5 points might be the results rather than the causes of school effectiveness because
the authors didn't study other potentially important inputs, such as the principal's skills,
or the effects of the lottery system in selecting students
This study didn't examine all of NYC’s charter schools, so there may be other dynamics
at work that make it hard to generalize the results for other charter schools or public
schools.
Lets Compare
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http://unitycharterschool.org/
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http://www.uhcs-newark.org/
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
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Proposed in 2001 by Bush in response to flat test scores
Aim was to close achievement gap among students from
different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds as well
as special needs and learning disabilities
NCLB mandates annual testing in reading and math
from 3-8 grade and at least once in high school
States are required to administer tests, revise teaching
strategies and offer tutoring programs
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
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States who do not follow the rules run the risk of losing
federal funding
Also requires a highly qualified teacher in every
classroom- means a college degree, license and
competency in the subject they teach
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some states have different views of what
“qualified” actually means
Looking to the Future
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Obama vowed to oversee the rewriting of NCLB
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Wants to keep some features of NCLB but also add
Replacing grading systems with one that takes into account
academic growth, attendance, graduation rates and the
differences between affluent and low-income students
 More intervention for failing schools, rewards for top performers
and less federal interference for those in the middle
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Congress missed 2011 deadline to pass a revised bill so
Obama administration invited states to request waivers
from specific NCLB requirements in exchange for statedeveloped plans to improve education outcomes
Race to the Top
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4.35 billion dollar contest announced in 2009 by President
Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
States could compete for funding by:
adopting performance-based standards for teachers and
administrators
 Complying with nationwide standards
 Encouraging the development of high-performing charter schools
 Using data systems to support instruction
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Grants to winning states and districts have been awarded in
ongoing phases- grant amounts determined by state’s
population of children between 5-17
Race to the Top
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http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/perf
ormance/new-jersey-year-1.pdf
Standards-based education dampens
student creativity
Agree
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System based on standards is
taking creativity and innovation
out of teaching and learning
World is changing and K-12
should as well
Preparing students for the 21st ce
requires courses and content
anchored in today’s world and a
focus on creative thinking
Disagree
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Standards gives teachers
tools and benchmarks to
help students succeed
Basic reading and math
skills gained will help
form a solid foundation to
help students study
deeper and stay
competitive in the world
Class Size
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Many education reformers have pointed to class size reduction as a
necessary step in school reform
National Center for Education Statistics says number of students per fulltime teacher in public schools has declined over last 4 decades
By 2010 35 states had laws in place restricting the number of students in
a general classroom but with economic downturn many states relaxed or
eliminated them to lower costs
Studies done in the 80s points to the fact that class size reduction and
individualized instruction resulted in increases in long-term graduation
rates and improved outcomes for low-income and minority students
Harvard Study
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Estimates that a 33% reduction in class size leads to an increase
in students' lifetime earnings of about $4,421 for every year the
reduction takes place
However, number of teachers in public classrooms has plummeted
by 220,000 between 2009 and 2011
This translates into a 5.9% increase in class size- resulting in a
$49.3 billion loss in lifetime earnings for every year this class
size increase lasts - or an almost $100 billion loss between 2009
and 2011 alone.
The actual budget savings from these teacher cuts is only $11.8
billion per year.
2011 Report Card
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http://education.state.nj.us/rc/rc11/rcreport.php?c=27
;d=4080;s=050;lt=P;st=H
Smaller class size improves student
learning
Agree
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Individualized instruction
Long-term benefits
especially for minorities
Better classroom
management and discipline
Teachers less likely to burn
out of profession
More flexibility in teaching
methods
Disagree
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Focusing on smaller class
sizes distracts from more
important issues
Fewer students per class
will lead to schools hiring
under qualified teachers
to meet demand
Most expensive form of
school reform
Merit Pay and Performance Bonuses
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According to ‘Race to the Top’ federal guidelines, states that
want to compete for federal grants must create teacher
evaluations that take into account data on student growth
and use that to “compensate, promote and retain” teachers
In Nov 2012, Newark became first union in NJ to introduce
bonus pay
$5,000 for achieving high-level results
 Up to $5,000 for working in poorly performing schools
 Up to $2,500 for teaching a subject that has been difficult to
staff in the past
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Merit pay for teachers should be tied
to test scores
Agree
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Teachers should be compensated
and promoted based on their
performance
Merit pay removes ineffective
teachers
Financial incentives are a
powerful motivator
Teachers are often underpaid
and merit pay will fix the injustice
Disagree
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Student test scores do not
adequately represent teacher
skill level
High stakes causes cheating and
altering of data
Teachers would only be thinking
about themselves and teamwork
would suffer
Punishes teachers assigned to
low-level or difficult students