Opponents of currently dominant education policies have a problem that proponents do not.  Proponents, supported by unlimited funds from several well-connected billionaires, have been able to influence local, state and national decision-makers with little open public debate even while many Americans oppose the current set of market-based ideas that are driving dramatic changes in education. Pockets of resistance are popping up around the country. Educators and researchers have exposed the unfairness, inaccuracy and instability of student test scores as a measure of teachers’ expertise and primary determinant of employment status. But, for most citizens, the controversy surrounding these reforms is not yet a dominant issue in their busy lives.

 

In fact, most parents are satisfied with their local schools. That is not surprising because for all the negative attention to international assessment comparisons, most middle-class students do OK.  Policy arguments about economic competitiveness are distant from the daily lives of our children. And, for parents who struggle economically, the under-resourced, poorly performing schools their children attend is but one additional aspect of a very challenging life.

 

In the United States, we have always struggled with the inherent tension between celebrating individual freedom and embracing collective responsibility.