Public Education Reform

Public Education Reform in the United States seeks to address challenges within a system that serves over 50 million students across approximately 14,000 school districts. Rooted in the ideals of the Founding Fathers, education is viewed as essential for informed citizen participation in democracy and economic competitiveness. Despite significant investments, studies highlight that U.S. students lag behind their international peers in critical subjects such as mathematics and science, raising concerns about the effectiveness of current educational practices.

Historically, reports like "A Nation at Risk" have called for reforms to enhance accountability, improve funding equity, and focus on foundational skills in reading, writing, and math. Recent efforts have included initiatives like the No Child Left Behind Act, which aimed to set standards and increase accountability, yet many argue that meaningful progress remains elusive. Moreover, challenges such as grade inflation and disparities in school funding based on local property taxes have compounded the need for reform.

As the U.S. becomes increasingly diverse, education reform also encompasses multiculturalism, aiming to better prepare students for a globalized society. Overall, the landscape of public education reform reflects an ongoing need to adapt to societal and technological changes, ensuring that all students receive a high-quality education that equips them for future success.

Published in: 2021

By: Wienclaw, Ruth A.

Subject Terms

Public Education Reform

The public education system in the United States provides education to more than 50 million students a year. This system was part of the vision of the Founding Fathers so that the American public could make educated choices about its leadership and meaningfully participate in democracy. In twenty-first-century, postindustrial society, education has become the sine qua non of preparing oneself to effectively compete in the global economy, not only as an individual, but as part of a nation as well. However, many studies find that the United States is falling behind in the international rankings in science and mathematics at important benchmark points during the education process. In response, the 1983 report “A Nation at Risk” articulated a number of ways in which the education system could be improved so that students were more competitive on a global level. However, some three decades later, indifferent progress has been made toward these goals. Far from education reform no longer being needed, it has become more important than ever before.

Keywords Back to Basics; Education Reform; Globalization; Grade Inflation; Multiculturalism; Postindustrial; Public School; Society; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Technology

Public Education Reform

Overview

The public education system in the United States is made up of about 14,000 locally governed school districts that provide education to more than 50 million students from prekindergarten through twelfth grade. In the 2009-2010 school year, this education cost $638 billion in public funds. However, the public education system of the United States stands apart not only because of its size and scope, but also because of the principles on which it was founded. Thomas Jefferson held that governments degenerate when trusted to the rulers or political leaders of the country. As a result, Jefferson advocated public education, proposing that it is necessary for citizens to improve their minds in order for democracy to work. Similarly, Benjamin Rush, another founder, stated in his "Plan for the Establishment of Public Schools" that education is favorable to liberty, promotes the ideas of laws and government, and is important to the economic well-being of the country. James Madison summarized the ideas of the Founding Fathers on public education in this way: "A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy: or, perhaps both" (as cited in Fazzaro, 2007, p. 56).

Based on this impressive philosophy, one might reasonably assume that the public school education that one can receive in the United States would be among the best in the world. However, according to the 2011 International Mathematics and Science Study performed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (an international organization of national research institutions and governmental research agencies), United States eighth-graders rank ninth in mathematics and tenth in science out of more than forty nations tested (U.S. Department of Education, 2011). Education in today's postindustrial society is therefore important not only to individuals who are trying to improve their socioeconomic status by learning skills that will make them more marketable in local and global marketplaces, but also to the society as a whole as it attempts to remain a world leader.

Arguably, education reform has been around as long as education itself, as interested parties attempt to prepare citizens to lead the nation and secure its future. In recent years, however, the United States faces new challenges in reforming its education system (Andersen & Taylor, 2002). The United States is becoming an increasingly diverse society, a fact that makes the development of a public education system that will meet the needs of all its members more challenging than in the past. In addition, inequalities exist among many schools. This is due to a number of complex factors, including the fact that not every school receives equal funding. In addition, problems have arisen over the focus of education. For example, the late twentieth century saw a trend toward attempting to widen students' education by teaching them about important current issues (e.g., the environment), allowing them to learn at their own pace, or not forcing them to endure the rigors of traditional classroom discipline. Although such trends may have been well-intended, they often meant that the basics of reading, writing, and mathematics were given less emphasis in order to expand curricula. As a result, student discipline began to decline, functional illiteracy rose, and teachers were inadequately prepared to teach the basic skills necessary for students to succeed.

Recent Education Reforms

Redirecting Funding

There are a number of approaches that have been taken to try to reform public education in the United States. One of the obvious ways in which to reform the education system is to reduce inequalities between schools. In the United States, this is one of the enduring problems of education reform. Funding inequalities can be observed across the nation, and also for different school districts within the same city or region. Although this might seem a simple enough problem to solve, public education is primarily funded through local property taxes. As a result, school districts in which home values are higher typically have more money for public education than do school districts where property values are lower. As a result, school districts in more prosperous communities have greater funding available to purchase textbooks, laboratory equipment, and computers that form the infrastructure for education today. Greater funding means that a school district can attract better teachers with the offer of higher salaries, and have smaller classroom sizes so that students can receive more individual attention. All these things affect the quality of education.

However, although most people understand, at least on some level, the need for a superior education in order to maintain one's competitive edge, most people are also reluctant to pay higher taxes. In an attempt to promote public education reform, therefore, a number of states have shifted the source of funding for public education from property taxes to other sources, such as state income tax.

Back to Basics

Another common feature of most movements for public education reform is an increased emphasis on giving students a firm foundation in basic educational subjects. One way in which this is done is to return to an emphasis on the basics of education rather than on more politically correct or popular contemporary issues. This approach to education reform was precipitated at least in part by the 1983 report A Nation at Risk: An Imperative for Educational Reform. In this report, the National Commission on Excellence in Education concluded that the United States is no longer preeminent in commerce, industry, science, and technology, and that the edge had been gained by other countries. According to the commission's report, if this edge is not regained, Americans' culture and way of life could also be negatively impacted and could become more reliant on assistance from outside groups (e.g., advances in science and technology, access to high tech products). The report cited functional illiteracy rates, lower average achievement on most standardized tests, decline in Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, steady decline in science achievement, lack of higher order intellectual skills for high school juniors and seniors, and the increasing dollars spent on remedial education programs for basic skills (e.g., reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic) by the military and business in the United States.

In the wake of the publication of A Nation at Risk, the slip of the United States in international rankings of educational excellence as cited above, and various other studies on the quality of education in America, a back-to-basics reform movement developed that placed greater emphasis on basic skills (e.g., reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic) and teaching the standards of classical literature than on other subjects and skills. In addition to placing more emphasis on teaching basic subjects, there has been a concomitant trend for more objectivity in grading at all levels, from elementary school through college. This is in reaction to accusations of grade inflation, which occurs when an excessive number of high grades are given to students or when average students who earn average scores are given above-average grades instead. Grade inflation effectively lowers the value of the top grades earned by higher-achieving students, making them less competitive in the marketplace, whether or not they have the knowledge and abilities to win top positions. The practice of grade inflation also makes lower-achieving graduates poorly prepared for the realities of college or the working world, and thus, society is ill-prepared to compete in the global marketplace. In response to the problem of grade inflation, the No Child Left Behind Act, passed in 2001, requires testing for all students in public schools to make sure that they meet minimum grade-level standards in core subject areas. To encourage the success of this trend, the back-to-basics movement has been accompanied in many cases by a concomitant emphasis on better discipline.

Understanding Technology

Another common component of education reform is an emphasis on providing an infrastructure of new technology in the classroom. Increasingly, jobs in today's postindustrial society require individuals to be able to use technology. In many cases, better jobs can be earned by actually being able to design new technologies. However, before either of these things can happen, students need to be taught the skills necessary to use and develop these technologies. To do this, classrooms need to have computer hardware and commonly used software, Internet access, and other tools necessary to teach the necessary skills for success in the marketplace. This also means that some standard curricula may need to be revised to incorporate the technologies as they will be used in the real world.

There can, however, be a tension between using new technology and learning the basics. For example, many high school students today depend heavily on graphing calculators to solve a wide range of homework problems ranging from simple arithmetic to complex equations. However, if they rely too heavily on these tools, they will not be prepared to compete against other countries that do not do so and will not even be adequately prepared to perform well on standard achievement tests that prohibit the use of such technological tools.

Multiculturalism

Finally, another type of education reform has nothing to do with academics per se, but with providing students with a more accurate picture of women, minorities, or other societal subgroups with which students may be less familiar. This multiculturalism movement attempts to introduce more courses on different subcultures, ethnic groups, and gender studies with the hope of better preparing students for dealing with diverse people that they will meet once they are out of school and in the real world. Such knowledge and skills are increasingly important with globalization and the concomitantly higher probability that graduates will encounter and work with a wider and more diverse group of people than was likely in the past.

Applications

A Nation at Risk & No Child Left Behind

It has been over three decades since A Nation at Risk was published. During that time, the United States has put in place various initiatives to help ensure that students are taught what they need to know to be competitive in the global marketplace, thereby helping to ensure that American society will not be negatively impacted by a slip in international rankings. One of these is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This controversial law was designed to enforce standards and increase accountability for states, school districts, and schools in order to help improve the performance of primary and secondary public schools in the United States. The No Child Left Behind Act also provides parents with more flexibility in choosing the school that their children attend, under the assumption that not all schools are academically equivalent. Schools that are identified as needing improvement to bring students up to national standards are required by law under the No Child Left Behind Act to provide students other choices for public schooling.

Despite such attempts to address the problems with the American school system that were illuminated in A Nation at Risk, it does not appear that a great deal of progress has been made toward accomplishing the education reform goals set out in that document. In fact, the average mathematics scores of 15 year-olds in this country rank only 25th out of 30 countries included in a study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2006 (as cited in Strong American Schools, 2008).

A 2008 report from the nonprofit organization Strong American Schools concluded that there has been a significant lack of progress in educational reform. The report looked at progress made in education reform in four areas as set forth in A Nation at Risk:

• Content,

• Standards and expectations,

• Time, and

• Teaching.

Regarding content, one of the recommendations of A Nation at Risk was that the requirements for high school graduation be strengthened and that high school students be required to take four years of English, three years of mathematics, three years of science, and three years of social studies. The follow-up report found that most states had appropriately raised their graduation standards for high school students within a few years of the original study. In addition, A Nation at Risk recommended that elementary school curricula should be redesigned in order to provide students with a good foundation for further education in a number of areas, including English language development, writing, computational skills problem solving, science, and social studies. However, the follow-up report found that two recent studies revealed that expectations on state tests of reading and mathematics are much lower at the elementary school level than in high school, leaving many students unprepared for high school work.

As far as standards and expectations are concerned, A Nation at Risk recommended that grades should adequately reflect a student's academic achievement and readiness for exams and coursework. However, the follow-up report found that although the average grades in high school rose significantly in the twenty-five years following publication of A Nation at Risk , twelfth-grade achievement in several subjects had declined. A Nation at Risk also recommended that standardized tests be designed to measure students' achievement in various school subjects should be administered at major transition points between one level of education and another, as part of a nationwide system of state and local standardized testing. The No Child Left Behind Act has, indeed, mandated the administration of achievement tests in grades three through eight and once during high school. However, the follow-up report found that a majority of the current high school achievement tests do not actually measure readiness for college or employment. Further, the follow-up report found that even twenty-five years after the publication of A Nation at Risk, there still is not a nationwide system of standardized tests. This makes it difficult to compare the achievement of students in different states, across the nation, or internationally in any meaningful way.

A third major recommendation of A Nation at Risk was that the amount of time a student spent in school should be raised from 180 six-hour days per year to seven hours per day across a 200- to 220-day school year. Twenty-five years later, however, not even one state had adopted a 200-day minimum school year and only one state provided financial incentives to schools and school districts to significantly increase the learning time of their students. In general, therefore, little has been done to increase the amount of time spent in formal learning for students during elementary and high school years. Finally, A Nation at Risk recommended that teachers' salaries should be increased to be both professionally competitive and market sensitive. In addition, it was recommended that teachers' salaries should be performance-based, with distinctions made between beginning, experienced, and master teachers. However, the follow-up report found that although teachers' salaries increased in the years following publication of A Nation at Risk, they still were not competitive with other professions (e.g., nursing). Further, very few states adopted initiatives for performance pay or career ladders for teachers. In the end, the follow-up report concluded that the United States is still at risk.

Conclusion

The public education system in the United States is not only massive, but also is based on principles closely tied to the ideals and philosophies of the nation’s founders. To help ensure that the education received in the public school system is adequate for purposes of creating an enlightened electorate that can meaningfully participate in its own governance with full understanding of its choices, as well as creating a skilled workforce for the twenty-first century that will enable the United States to remain a world leader, continual evaluation of the education system and education reform as necessary is essential. This will allow the education system to keep up with advancements in academic subjects, technology, and teaching methods so that students can receive the best education possible. Since the passage of No Child Left Behind, certain additional measures, such as the Common Core Standards Initiative, and the Race to the Top federal funding program established in 2009, have been undertaken; however, the need for public education reform is still valid and urgent, and much work is yet to be done.

Terms & Concepts

Back to Basics: A trend in education in which greater emphasis is placed on the acquisition of basic skills (e.g., reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic) and teaching the standards of classical literature than on other subjects and skills.

Education: From a sociological perspective, education is a formal learning process in which some individuals take on the social role of teacher and others take on the social role of student.

Education Reform: A movement to bring about a systematic change to education theory or practice across a school district or system.

Globalization: Globalization is the process of businesses or technologies spreading across the world. This creates an interconnected, global marketplace operating outside constraints of time zone or national boundary. Although globalization means an expanded marketplace, products are typically adapted to fit the specific needs of each locality or culture to which they are marketed.

Grade Inflation: A situation in which an excessive number of high grades are given to students, or average students are given above-average grades. Grade inflation effectively lowers the value of the top grades earned by higher-achieving students.

Multiculturalism: A movement within the U.S. education system to introduce more courses on different subcultures, ethnic groups, and gender studies.

Postindustrial: The nature of a society whose economy is no longer dependent on the manufacture of goods (i.e., industrial), but is primarily based upon the processing and control of information and the provision of services.

Public School: In the United States, a public school is an elementary or secondary education institution that provides free education to the children in a community or school district. The funding for the school comes from the public in the form of state or local tax dollars.

Socioeconomic Status (SES): The position of an individual or group on the two vectors of social and economic status and their combination. Factors contributing to socioeconomic status include (but are not limited to) income, type and prestige of occupation, place of residence, and educational attainment.

Bibliography

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Andersen, M. L., & Taylor, H. F. (2002). Sociology: Understanding a diverse society . Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. ..FT. Barkan, J. (2012). Hired guns on astroturf: How to buy and sell school reform. Dissent, 59, 49–57. Retrieved January 8, 2015, from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=73183230&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Fazzaro, C. J. (2007). The United States Supreme Court, the fundamental purpose of American public education, and the role of teachers. Journal of Philosophy and History of Education, 57, 56–61. Retrieved 20 September 2008 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=33964227&site=ehost-live

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Katz, S. N. (2013). Reshaping U.S. public education policy. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 11, 24–26. Retrieved 19 November 2013 from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=85916314

National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983, Apr.). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform. Retrieved 6 June 2008 from U.S. Department of Education http://www.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/index.html

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Strong American Schools. (2008, Apr.). A stagnant nation: Why American students are still at risk . Retrieved 19 November 2013 from http://www.broadeducation.org/asset/1128-a%20stagnant%20nation.pdf

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Public Education Reform

On this Page

Subject Terms

Public Education Reform

Public Education Reform

Overview

Recent Education Reforms

Redirecting Funding

Back to Basics

Understanding Technology

Multiculturalism

Applications

A Nation at Risk & No Child Left Behind

Conclusion

Terms & Concepts

Bibliography

Suggested Reading