The Death and Life of the Great American School System

How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education

By: Diane Ravitch

Narrated by: Eliza Foss

In this best-selling expose of national policy gone wrong, America's foremost historian of education, Diane Ravitch, renounces her support for reform policies implemented over the past decade that she says are wrecking America's cherished tradition of public education. Strategies like accountability schemes based on questionable standardized tests, merit pay for teachers based on gains on the same unreliable tests, vouchers, and charter schools have been oversold as solutions for our educational problems. Policymakers pushing a market model of reform and charter schools are on the wrong track, ignoring classroom realities. The more they push these policies, Ravitch says, the more they will harm our nation's school system and undermine the quality of education.

The bipartisan No Child Left Behind program ("NCLB") implemented with a heavy political hand nationwide, has failed to improve education. It has turned our schools into testing factories to train children how to take standardized tests instead of giving them the knowledge and skills that are necessary components of a good education. The federal "sanctions" and "remedies" now mandated nationwide have unfairly stigmatized thousands of schools, putting them at risk of being closed and privatized.

The "miracles" touted by districts under the new policies vanish on close examination. Test scores in many states and districts are inflated by statistical game-playing and lowered standards. The over-emphasis on testing has all but eliminated the essential elements of a solid education, including history, civics, science, the arts, geography, literature, physical education, health education, and foreign languages. Privatization and deregulation has led predictably to some good and some bad but, on average, charters do not get better results than regular public schools-just new federal subsidies. Teacher evaluation by student test scores is a deeply flawed approach to hiring and job tenure that is driving good teachers out of public education.

The future of public education is at stake. A democratic society needs a healthy, vibrant public education system with good public schools in every neighborhood. On our current course, the schools will be privatized, deregulated, and turned over to entrepreneurs. Based on a careful review of the evidence, Ravitch says that this course of action is unlikely to improve American education.

©2011 Diane Ravitch (P)2012 Diane Ravitch

Decent

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The woman who read the book was irritating. I think it took twice as long than if I had read the text myself. Too many long pauses.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The fact that the author seemed genuinely less concerned about party politics and more concerned about the welfare of the American student.

Would you be willing to try another one of Eliza Foss’s performances?

No

Did The Death and Life of the Great American School System inspire you to do anything?

No

A must read for anyone involved in School Reform

If you could sum up The Death and Life of the Great American School System in three words, what would they be?

Revealing, Provacative, Insightful

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Death and Life of the Great American School System?

Understanding the corporate influence in policy making

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator needed to speak clearly, and louder, at times she drifted into a soft whisper, and talked too sensual for the topic.

If you could give The Death and Life of the Great American School System a new subtitle, what would it be?

An expose into the forces shaping educational policy.

Any additional comments?

You must read this book, if you are in anyway involved with education. If you are concerned about the state of students today, and want to understand why and how the problems of K-12 are now fully entrenched into Higher Education, you need to be aware of the history of decentralization of school. This book is brilliant and enlightening.

Informative!

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook, it was very informative and I learned a lot.

educators must read

This book should be read by every educator - especially administrators. Also, those in the political system who have any influence on how education systems work. Ms. Ravitch has taken a bold stance against current practices of testing children unfairly and using that data for evaluating teachers and assigning monetary support.
As a retired teacher of special needs kids, I saw many of the tragedies of high-stakes testing, including ignoring student needs as secondary to the curriculum.

Nailed it, foresaw it

Diane nailed what I came to experience as at best, questionable decisions and practices as an educator in the last 10 years. Much like the reckoning that is occurring in reading across the nation, currently many of the things that we “tried“ under no child left behind and race to the top have mislead and soured students, parents teachers, and the nation as a whole on public education. It’s no wonder that large chunks of the population are seeking out other options for schooling, including homeschooling, micro schools, charters, and of course, private education. This book really helped serve as a good summary of the history of modern education; it also helps to diagnose the then ills of public education and an even foresaw some of the coming problems that we are currently dealing with… definitely recommend.

Useful information: What's Education For?

If you could sum up The Death and Life of the Great American School System in three words, what would they be?

thought-provoking, statistical, research-based

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The description of a business model for education, as though learning were a market commodity, and the damage that model does to useful learning in our schools.

Which scene was your favorite?

The description of the New York educational "reform", and the flawed statistics that supported the results as effective.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No! Way too dense. One disadvantage of audiobooks is that a report like this, with reference to many statistics in the narrative, is difficult to follow--hard to remember what numbers were cited a few paragraphs ago. In printed books, you can just flip back.

Any additional comments?

I appreciated the fact-based investigation and arguments Ravitch offered, and will be watching our own schools to see if they can move away from "teaching to the test", a move that both of my daughters, both schoolteachers, find is an impediment to their ability to educate their students, especially in critical thinking and problem-solving.

A tedious book with some important information.

Woven through the tiresome repetition are facts critical to understanding the situation in American education. Slog through it.

Spot On!

Ms. Ravitch eloquently explains the issues facing today's educators. She has a first-hand knowledge of the politics that drive public education. The only thing missing are the answers.

A welcome voice of both reason and heart

Content: As a student of Education, this is hands down one of my favorite books on education I've read during my PhD program.
Performance: adequate narration, a touch slow for my taste. I usually listened to it at 1.5 speed, sometimes 1.25.
Overall: Whether you are an educator, policy maker, parent, or a concerned citizen, this is a book that you should read. It's not only an important but a solid writer is at the helm. A welcome voice of both heart and reason.

Interesting read for every teacher

If you could sum up The Death and Life of the Great American School System in three words, what would they be?

A short history of the American educational system, including an honest look at the causes and consequences of the current trends.