Education Reform Quiz

Education Reform: A Summary

Education reform refers to changing public education through revising legislation, standards, methodology, and policy to reflect the needs and values of contemporary society.
Classical education curriculums focused on teaching high-status ancient languages and their cultures, instead of local languages and culture.
Motivations for education reform include making schooling more accessible, developing a robust state-supported common school system, improving society by advocating for a scientific, pragmatic, or democratic principle-based curriculum, and meeting the needs of the child.
Education inequality is also a motivation for education reform, seeking to address problems of a community.
Education plays an integral role in the process of socialization, reinforcing socially acceptable norms, values, and beliefs that individuals need to learn to be accepted in society.
Reformers aim to redress societal ills, such as poverty-, gender-, or class-based inequities, or perceived ineffectiveness.
The idea that all children should be provided with a high level of education is a relatively recent idea, and has arisen largely in the context of Western democracy in the 20th century.
The current model of kindergarten is reflective of the Prussian model, which aimed to teach a unified version of the national language.
Modern education reforms are increasingly driven by a growing understanding of what works in education and how to go about successfully improving teaching and learning in schools.
Horace Mann of Massachusetts used his political base and role as Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education to promote public education in his home state and nationwide.
John Dewey, a philosopher and educator based in Chicago and New York, helped conceptualize the role of American and international education during the first four decades of the 20th century.
Education reform can have significant socio-economic benefits, as small improvements in education can have large returns in areas such as health, wealth, and well-being.A Brief History of Education Reform in the United States
John Dewey advocated for experiential education that would enable children to learn theory and practice simultaneously.
Dewey's influence began to decline in the time after the Second World War and particularly in the Cold War era.
Administrative progressivism was in its practice much more influenced by the Industrial Revolution and the concept economies of scale.
Administrative progressives are responsible for many features of modern American education, especially American high schools.
In colonial America, formal and informal education instruction focused on teaching literacy, and all colonists needed to understand the written language on some fundamental level.
The first compulsory education laws were passed in Massachusetts between 1642 and 1648 when religious leaders noticed not all parents were providing their children with proper education.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) represents the federal government's commitment to providing equal access to quality education.
During the 1980s, some of the momentum of education reform moved from the left to the right, with the release of A Nation at Risk, Ronald Reagan's efforts to reduce or eliminate the United States Department of Education.
In the 1990s, most states and districts adopted outcome-based education (OBE).
In 2002, the standards-based reform movement culminated as the No Child left Behind Act of 2001 where achievement standard were set by each individual state.
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, enacted in 2009, reserved more than $85 billion in public funds to be used for education.
The 2009 Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association launch the Common Core State Standards Initiative.Education Reform in the United States
Race to the Top competition was launched in 2012 to spur K-12 education reform through higher standards.
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was enacted in 2015 to limit the role of the federal government in school liability and focus on assessing student achievement holistically.
Betsy DeVos was appointed as the 11th Secretary of Education in 2017, with a strong focus on school choice, school voucher programs, and charter schools.
The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act was signed in 2018 to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.
Education inequalities facing students of color include a history of racial and socioeconomic class segregation and a racial wealth gap.
Access to high-quality early childhood education is less accessible to children of color.
Private interest in American charter schools has been criticized for funding initiatives to undermine public education.
School choice advocates promote competition and choice to promote excellence in education.
Critics of teacher tenure claim that the laws protect ineffective teachers from being fired.
The United States is tied for first place with Switzerland when it comes to annual spending per student on public schools, but U.S. public schools lag behind other rich countries in reading, math, and science.
Schools in wealthy areas tend to be over-funded while schools in poorer areas tend to be underfunded, accentuating inequalities.
There are debates over further education reform, including private interest in American charter schools, school choice, teacher tenure, and funding levels.Education Reform: Key Points
Studies have shown that there is a correlation between increased funding and improved academic performance, but socioeconomic factors also play a major role.
Eric Hanushek's analyses in the 1980s sparked debates about the effectiveness of education spending, leading to a focus on accountability and incentives.
Smaller class sizes and newer buildings have been linked to academic improvements, but some reform ideas require greater funding.
William J. Bennett argued in 1999 that increased spending on public education had not improved schools, citing statistics.
Education for All is a global initiative to ensure access to basic education for all; the Education 2030 Agenda outlines how countries can achieve this.
Thailand's education reform in 1995 aimed to develop the nation and has led to improved income and poverty rates.
The learning crisis refers to the reality that many children attend school but do not learn; education system reform is needed to address this.
Digital education includes various uses of computers, from calculators to online courses, and blended learning is considered the most effective.
Artificial intelligence was once thought to replace teachers, but now computers are seen as tools to aid teachers and students.
The internet has opened up a world of educational resources, and the media has played a role in pushing formal educational institutions to become savvier in their methods.
Technology is constantly changing, and teachers, learners, and administrators must adapt to keep up with it.
UNESCO's Education Transforms Lives report provides further insights into education reform.