Contributed Commentary on
Volume 4 Number 1: Stedman The Achievement Crisis is Real: A Review of The Manufactured Crisis

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10 April 1996

John F. Covaleskie

JCOVALES@NMU.EDU

It is good to see Andrew attacking public schools again.

If B & B are somewhat selective in their presentation of evidence, they are no more than following the lead, if not to the extent, of those who have been unfairly attacking schools for the past two decades.

As I understand the core of their argument, it is that there is much evidence that schools are doing a remarkably good job with an increasingly diverse population. To cite one example, SAT scores have been declining for some time, and this is pointed to as a failure of schools. However, disagreggated data show that scores are actually rising for all subgroups, while the decline is due to the expansion of the test-taking pool among those who score lower, and were previousl;y excluded. The central claims of B & B seems unrefuted: (1) schools are not perfect, and need to made better, but they are hardly failures as they are painted, and (2) to make the case that schools are failing requires ignoring a great deal of data, and (3) the media have been complicit with those who, for ideological reasons, oppose public funding of education, quite regardless of its success or failure.

Opposition to public education is hardly a matter of evidence; never has been, probably never will be. Support for public education is the same. The issue is what, if anything we owe collectively to our children.