This week, we've gathered some of top names in education policy to discuss the direction of school reform under No Child Left Behind and, now, the Obama administration. At the heart of the conversation is education historian Diane Ravitch's new book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education, which contends that testing and school choice--the hallmarks of recent reforms--are devastating schools. In this third round, Ravitch answers criticisms from Kevin Carey, policy director of Education Sector, a think tank based in Washington, D.C., and Andrew Rotherham of Bellweather Education weighs in about the tone of the debate and whether Death and Life should be considered an agenda-setting text.
By Diane Ravitch: We don't yet have all the answers for fixing American education, but we know current reforms aren't working. So why keep supporting them?
By Andrew Rotherham: Death and Life is being debated as a policy prescription. That's a problem, because it doesn't offer an agenda.
(Flickr photo credit: foreversouls)