Returning to Education Reform. Issue Brief / Charles E. Greenawalt, II.

With the failure of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to adopt the governor's education reform package, the time is opportune to review the major problems with education in Pennsylvania and some actions that would relieve these problems. The main symptom of education problems, in Pennsylvania as in the nation as a whole, is weak academic performance. Contributing factors include: (1) the equity issue in educational finance; (2) the limited leverage schools possess in children's lives; (3) the lack of clear, unambiguous academic standards and expectations; (4) the lack of reliable data about educational results for parents and the public; (5) the limited consequences of poor academic performance; (6) the lack of systemic accountability for educational results; (7) the fact that power in education rests with the producers and not the consumers; (8) near-monopoly control of education by the establishment; (9) gridlocked educational decision making; (10) the complacency of average Americans about their own schools; (11) antiquated educational designs; and (12) the persistence of old-fashioned and incorrect educational policies and practices. Fundamental reforms are needed with regard to power and authority, standards, assessment, response to diversity, school choice, and professional development. Vision, courage, and persistence will be necessary to bring such reforms to pass. (SLD)

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