First published 2010
Education policy transforms a true believer into a fierce critic. Diane Ravitch spent decades championing school reform as a government official and policy advocate. She pushed for national curricula, standardized testing, and market-based solutions. Then she changed her mind completely. Ravitch now argues that these very reforms threaten public education's survival. She examines failed experiments across major cities like New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The evidence shows that business models damage schools rather than improve them. Charter schools drain resources from struggling students who need help most. Merit pay systems rely on flawed test scores that measure little. Politicians and corporate leaders make decisions that should belong to educators. Ravitch offers concrete alternatives: fair teacher wages, genuine national standards, family engagement, and educator control over classrooms. Her book delivers both a personal confession and a policy blueprint for rescuing American schools.
Genres: politics, education, non-fiction, academic
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-confession, policy-blueprint
Setting: New York, Chicago, Philadelphia
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
283 pages · Hardcover · Basic Books