Misguided Education Reform

Misguided Education Reform: Debating the Impact on Students argues for reforms that will help, not hurt, America’s public school students. Early childhood education, testing, reading, special education, discipline, loss of the arts, and school facilities, are all areas experiencing reform in the wrong direction. This book says “no” to the reforms that fail, and challenges Americans to address the real student needs that will fix public schools and make America strong.

“The Trouble with Testing and Common Core State Standards” chapter alone, is worth the price of the book. The author clearly substantiates the nonsense, abuses and frauds associated with the high-stakes testing movement. The discussion about the Common Core State Standards clearly illustrates how non K-12 individuals devised the core to belittle teachers and the public schools. The author notes that no formative evaluation has ever been part of any of the testing movements. And, then notes the total lack of pilot testing on the current vogue of achievement tests. This is must read chapter by all educational policy makers., “The Dangers of Criminalizing Students” chapter provides a thoughtful and accessible analysis of challenges that ought to be at the very heart of our conversations about educational reform today. Before we can improve what we do, we need to work together to reject interested messages that are designed to confuse and distract, saturating communication channels with sound-bites about teachers, counselors, and students that make it more difficult for us to see, let alone understand, the forces transforming our schools. I applaud the efforts here to unpack and clarify the dangers manifest in the many ways we are criminalizing our students., This book reveals the many aspects outside of school that affect student achievement, including an almost unprecedented recognition of the well documented consequences of lead poisoning on children’s learning and behavior. Knowledge of the consequences of lead poisoning have been well documented in the public health community for decades but few educators have shown an awareness of dealing with those consequences among their students., Nancy Bailey raises questions about school reform everyone should be asking., The chapter concerning public school facilities presents a very powerful argument – and in my view one that is sustained by facts. This is certainly a story that needs telling.

Nancy Bailey is a former special education teacher and principal and has a Ph.D. in educational administration from Florida State University. She has been a Title I Grant Manager in a program for troubled teens, the recipient of a Learning Disabilities Innovation in Teaching Grant, and an advocate for safe school facilities.