A decade into school voucher experiments, there is little evidence to support the theory that economic competition will force public schools to improve. At the same time, support is lacking for voucher foes' prediction that the programs could destroy public school systems.
"Under Vouchers, Status
Quo Rules"
Washington Post, 6/25/99
Poverty stifles school performance. Researchers once examined the achievement of students in high- and low-poverty schools. High-poverty schools were those with more than 75% of the students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch. Low-poverty schools had 0-20% eligibility. The researchers first categorized the kids in terms of the dominant letter grade on their report cards, then looked to see how the various categories fared on standardized tests of reading and math. On such tests, average is the 50th percentile. Students in low-poverty schools who took home "A's" scored at the 81st percentile in reading and 87th percentile in math. Students in high-poverty schools whose report cards said "A" did not reach even the 40th-percentile average on either test.
Gerald W. Bracey
"Poverty Issues Get Short Shrift"
USA Today, 8 November 1999
In 1987, the Council of Chief State School Officers adopted "Assuring School Success for Students at Risk" as an official position and model statue. The statement had two assumptions: (a) all children can learn; and (b) what each child learns must include a challenging and common curriculum.
"Delineating the Boundaries
of a People's Aspiration"
Education Week, 27 January 1999
Most of Hewlett-Packard's revenues come from products that didn't exist a year ago.
The Digital Economy
Don Tappscott
Something on the order of 1000 new products are introduced into America's supermarkets every month.
Creating a New Civilization:
The Politics of the Third Wave
Alvin and Heidi Toffler
In 1880 it took more than 20 man-hours to harvest an acre of wheat. ...Now it can be done in a matter of minutes, but today's farmers are "busier" than ever.
The End of Work
Jeremy Rifkin
The structure of the American public school system dates to the early industrial age. The paradigm is school-as-factory, turning out standard products, with teachers as laborers, principals as foremen, and superintendents as general overseers.
"Contracting: The Case
for Privately Operated Public Schools"
RAND Research Brief (RB-8011), 1995
Between 1980 and 1992, steel industry employment dropped from 400,000 to 180,000. But in the 1990s, the industry makes about the same amount of steel as it did in 1980... .
The Good Life and Its
Discontents
Robert J. Samuelson
In 1950, the United States' percentage of world motor vehicle production was 76 percent. In 1994, it was 25 percent.
The World Almanac and
Book of Facts
1996
The current back-to-the-basics movement envisions a year 2000 curriculum similar to that of the 1960s. But while it is possible to turn back the clock on curriculum, it is not possible to turn back the clock on demography. In 1960, the population of the U.S. was 181 million of which 36 million were in the K-12 education system; 2.5 million new immigrants entered the U.S. during the preceding decade; 59% of all 17-year-olds were high school graduates. In 1990, the U.S. population was 250 million of which 41 million were in K-12; 7.3 immigrants entered the U.S. during the preceding decade; 70% of all 17-year-olds were high school graduates. By 2000, the U.S. population will exceed 270 million, and over 52 million will be in K-12.
Data taken from "Lessons
of a Century: Opening the Doors"
Education Week, 27 January 1999
Look at a roster of the 100 largest U.S. companies at the beginning of the 1900s. You'll find that only 16 are still in existence. Then consider Fortune magazine's first list (published in 1956) of America's 500 biggest companies. Only 29 of the 100 firms topping that first "Fortune 500" could still be found in the top 100 by 1992.
New Work Habits for a
Radically Changing World
Price Pritchett, 1994