When School Reform Goes Wrong

Book excerpt: In this much-needed volume, Nel Noddings uses her extensive experience at every level of schooling to challenge the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Noddings invites readers to think critically about the ideas underlying NCLB, the reform movement that shaped it, and the processes it has put into play. She considers such questions as, Is money the answer to raising test scores? Are failing schools mainly attended by poor children, or are all of our schools failing? Do all students need courses in advanced mathematics, physics, and chemistry? Should special education students be expected to meet the same standards as regular students? Does one standard curriculum serve the needs and interests of all students? Does our current system of schooling undermine the democracy it should support? This dynamic book: Challenges almost every provision in the No Child Left Behind Act. Argues for educationally justifiable interpretations of equality, accountability, standards, testing, and choice. Suggests an educationally and morally acceptable way of employing an enriched form of tracking to meet the needs of all students. Considers what is at stake for our children, schools, and democracy and offers suggestions for fresh thinking. “A must read for anyone who cares about our troubled public system of education.” —David C. Berliner, Mary Lou Fulton College of Education, Arizona State University “If you only have time to read one book, make it this one. Logical, lucid, wry, and wise, the book brings Noddings’s vast experience to bear on what’s wrong about current and recent efforts at school reform and what appropriate, humane reform might look like.” —Gerald Bracey, independent researcher and writer “Developing themes from her landmark volume The Challenge to Care in Schools, Nel Noddings provides a much-needed perspective on current educational reforms.” —Kenneth R. Howe, University of Colorado, Boulder