I may not always agree with Diane Ravitch, but I really appreciated this history of our public school system and her criticism of the current situation in which we find ourselves. I also really respect her for owning her role in No Child Left Behind and actually saying she was wrong - why is it such a bad thing in American politics to change your mind?! Anyway, it's quite a lengthy read but well worth it for anyone who has a stake in our schools...which is everyone.

Well, I loved it, I love her and she is an amazing proponent for her beliefs. Made me think and differ more than I thought I would (not just a book for preaching to the choir.) I especially loved all the interviews she did for the book.

Very clear description of how education has gone horribly off track and places blame where it may need to lie. Good reminder of why/what public education should be.

A well-researched history of education reform as it is today & the significant flaws behind it. Frustrating to read as an educator but important nonetheless.

As an education historian, Ravitch does a great job of describing and explaining past reforms. It really gives the reader a better idea of current issues and why some efforts have succeeded and some have failed.

I really enjoyed reading, and was surprised at how straightforward and accessible Ravitch's writing is. This should be a must-read for anyone even tangentially related to the educational field. It closely examines a whole range of programs, gives great historical context, and then eviscerates the whole notion of corporate education reform.

I was definitely expecting the beat-down of No Child Left Behind, but I had never made connections between that high-stakes, accountability-driven legislation and the follow-up emphasis in education policy. Charter schools (which in their present form descended from school vouchers) created a market-driven system, attacks on teachers and principals and unions and tenure "cut costs" and "held people accountable", and all this still sits behind the concept of "data," which has been abused to the point of rampant corruption and cheating scandals (to meet unrealistic goals), narrowing of curriculum, and teacher witch-hunts (including the LA Times, which published names of teachers who supposedly posted low scores. Imagine any other company posting rankings of its employee's "effectiveness" to the newspaper).

All in all, an illuminating but depressing book.

A sobering tale about education "reform" and how success of those reforms is measured. This is ultimately a look at the focus on standardized testing and how that is a limiting measure. When testing is held as the ultimate yardstick, perversion of the scores occurs. I appreciated the honest, "behind the scences" look at many large scale reforms that were considered "successful"... though the examples did get a bit monotonous by the end of the book.

I applaud anyone who willingly admits they changed their mind, let alone who is bold enough to write a book about it. Ravitch clearly has experience in public education and the government’s role in it. This book has a lot of thoughtful statements. It is three stars because data is presented extensively and then extensively discredited and you are left with no real solution or any belief in anyone’s study and simultaneously confused on what the author believes is relevant data or not. I agree with a lot of her wishes, but fundamentally disagree that they will be possible by “fixing” the current education system via government.

I just got smart-sounding evidence for all the things I think about political education reform! Thanks, Cara!