Professor Diane Ravitch’s Smart Questions about American Education — a “Must Read” for People Who Care

© 2012 Peter Free

 

07 February 2012

 

 

Best in class

 

Occasionally, someone says something apparently intelligent about education:

 

Diane Ravitch, Do politicians know anything at all about schools and education? Anything?, Nieman Watchdog (07 February 2012)

 

 

“Why do we care what Professor Ravitch has to say, Pete?”

 

Dr. Ravitch is a historian of education at New York University.  That means she is used to evaluating education policy through Reality’s lens.

 

She is frequently the butt of attacks from Big Government education-intruders.

 

Valerie Strauss, The Diane Ravitch myth, Washington Post (03 February 2012)

 

Having undergone more education than the norm myself — and in transit, often wondering whether the torture of its often misdirected processes was necessary — I share some of Professor Ravitch’s questions about national education policy.

 

 

A sample from Ravitch’s list of 12 questions

 

Number 7:

 

Although elected officials like to complain about our standing on international tests, did you know that students in the United States have never done well on those tests?

 

Did you know that over the past half-century, our students have typically scored no better than average and often in the bottom quartile on international tests?

 

Have you ever wondered how our nation developed the world’s most successful economy when we scored so poorly over the decades on those tests?

 

© 2012 Diane Ravitch, Do politicians know anything at all about schools and education? Anything?, Nieman Watchdog (07 February 2012) (paragraph split)

 

 

“Where can I read more about Professor Ravitch’s ideas”

 

Here’s a start:

 

Diane Ravitch, What Can We Learn From Finland?, Education Week Blogs—Bridging Differences (11 October 2011)

 

You can find the same blog entry at the Washington Post:

 

Valerie Strauss, Ravitch: Why Finland’s schools are great (by doing what we don’t), Washington Post (13 October 2011)

 

 

The moral? — If we’re too ignorant (or stupid) to ask the right questions, we are not going to successfully meet the challenges that face us

 

Most of what politicians say about education is based on (a) little or no accurate information and (b) no coherent train of evidence-based thinking.

 

That is why Professor Ravitch concludes her list with, “Why is it that politicians don’t pay attention to research and studies?”