The greatest obstacle to those who hope to reform American education is complacency. — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
Accountability makes no sense when it undermines the larger goals of education. — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
American education has been littered with failed fads and foolish ideas for the past century. — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
Testing children until they cry is a bad idea. It is an educational malpractice. — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“The history of education is a seemingly endless parade of “new ideas” that are actually old ideas renamed.” — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
Congress and state legislatures should not tell teachers how to teach, any more than they should tell surgeons how to perform operations. — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
Sometimes the most brilliant and intelligent minds do not shine in standardized tests because they do not have standardized minds. — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“Nations such as Finland, Canada, Japan, and South Korea spend time and resources improving the skills of their teachers, not selectively firing… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
The ladder was there, from the gutter to the university, and for those stalwart enough to ascend it, the schools were a… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“Social scientists generally agree that students’ families (especially family income, which determines advantages and opportunity) have an even bigger impact on student… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
Testing is not a substitute for curriculum and instruction. Good education cannot be achieved by a strategy of testing children, shaming educators,… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
Most people believe that schools were good enough when they were children and that they are good enough now. But the dynamic… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“Educators say that every child can learn, but they understand that children learn at different rates and that some inevitably learn more… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“By comparing prior test scores, Sanders reasoned that the racial and socioeconomic characteristics of that student became unimportant. In effect, Sanders treated… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
I support charters, but the right kind of charters. I support charters that support kids who have the highest needs. A charter… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“While I have never been a member of any union, I was a friend of Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
The foundations demand that public schools and teachers be held accountable for performance, but they themselves are accountable to no one. If… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“statistician William Sanders in Tennessee, who began his career advising agricultural and manufacturing industries. Sanders claimed that his statistical modeling could determine… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“If we continue on the present course, with big foundations and the federal government investing heavily in opening more charter schools, the… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“NAEP is central to any discussion of whether American students and the public schools they attend are doing well or badly. It… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“Thus, those who now sharply criticize the public schools speak fondly of an era when most schools were racially segregated; when public… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“Will non-English-speaking students start speaking English because their teachers were fired? Will children come to school ready to learn because their teachers… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“Anyone who truly cares about children must be repelled by the insistence on ranking them, rating them, and labeling them. Whatever the… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“In Hollywood films and television documentaries, the battle lines are clearly drawn. Traditional public schools are bad; their supporters are apologists for… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“Our schools cannot be improved by the blind worship of data. Data are only as good as the measures used to create… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“A democratic society must seek to give every young person, whether native-born or newcomer, the knowledge and skills to succeed as an… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“The corporate reform movement has co-opted progressive themes and language in the service of radical purposes. Advocating the privatization of public education… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“Race to the Top was only marginally different from No Child Left Behind. In fact, it was worse, because it gave full-throated… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“NAEP data show beyond question that test scores in reading and math have improved for almost every group of students over the… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“Our schools will not improve if we continue to focus only on reading and mathematics while ignoring the other studies that are… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“with experienced teachers and lower turnover may be lost as well.”8” — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
Privatizing our public schools makes as much sense as privatizing the fire department or or the police department — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
Can teachers successfully educate children to think for themselves if teachers are not treated as professionals who think for themselves? — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
Going to school is not the same as going shopping. Parents should not be burdened with locating a suitable school for their… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“One problem with test-based accountability, as currently defined and used, is that it removes all responsibility from students and their families for… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“The reviewers found that the high attrition of TFA teachers presented a problem for schools and districts: “From a school-wide perspective, the… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
If charter schools are not more successful on average than the public schools they replace, what is accomplished by demolishing public education?… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share Image
“Our schools will not improve if we continue to focus only on reading and mathematics while ignoring the other studies that are essential elements… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
We will continue to chase rainbows unless we recognize that they are rainbows and there is no pot of gold at the end of… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
When you succeed at keeping almost everyone in school, you must figure out ways to educate everyone you keep in school. — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
“The history of education is a seemingly endless parade of “new ideas” that are actually old ideas renamed.” — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
We should totally ban for-profit charters. For-profit's first obligation is to its stockholders, not to its children. — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
“By picking a few winners, the Race to the Top competition abandoned the traditional idea of equality of educational opportunity, where federal aid favored… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
“The reformers define the purpose of education as preparation for global competitiveness, higher education, or the workforce. They view students as “human capital” or… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
“While I have never been a member of any union, I was a friend of Albert Shanker, president of the American Federation of Teachers,… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
In DC, policymakers think that if we can only have high enough standards, tough enough tests, and hold people accountable, we can close the… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
“The corporate reform movement has co-opted progressive themes and language in the service of radical purposes. Advocating the privatization of public education is deeply… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
American Education has a long history of infatuation with fads and ill-considered ideas. The current obsession with making our schools work like a business… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
The greatest obstacle to those who hope to reform American education is complacency. — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
“Social scientists generally agree that students’ families (especially family income, which determines advantages and opportunity) have an even bigger impact on student performance than… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
The ladder was there, from the gutter to the university, and for those stalwart enough to ascend it, the schools were a boon and… — Diane Ravitch Copy Share
