Corporatizing Public Schools

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Author:

National Council of Professors of Educational Administration

Subject:

Social Sciences

Institution Name:

Connexions

Collection:

Connexions

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

Abstract:

There can be no question that P-12 education was one of the more volatile issues during recent local, state, and federal elections. Reform initiatives were being touted by virtually all of the candidates whose names appeared on the November ballots. Data supporting success of many of these reform initiatives, particularly those in great favor with the political right, simply do not exist (see Hudson, 1998; Kohn, 2000; McNeil, 2000; McNeil & Valenzuela, 2000; Nevi, 2001; Ohanian, 2002; Popham, 2001; Smith & Ruhl-Smith, 2002a; Smith & Ruhl-Smith, 2002b; Smith & Ruhl-Smith, 2004). For those willing to carefully investigate the claims most commonly made in support of the corporate-driven reform efforts endorsed by conservatives and conservative groups, it is obvious that "the emperor has no clothing" (Smith & Ruhl-Smith, 2004). For-profit schools are in no significant way out-performing their public P-12 counterparts. Standardized instruments for the assessment of student learning toward specific outcomes are frequently unable to document evidence of "true" learning. Corporations that produce such standardized instruments and supporting preparation materials have proven unable to meet "guaranteed timelines" but, nonetheless, continue to generate profits at rates astronomically greater than the growth in virtually any other sector of the U.S. economy.

Course Type:

Learning Module

Languages:

English

Material Type:

Readings, Syllabi

Media Format:

Text/HTML

Conditions of Use:

Creative Commons Attribution 2.0