The rise of “evidenced based instruction”, scientifically grounded in research that offers proof of superior results is helping to bring up basic skills scores. For example over the last half century the “reading wars” have lead to periodic shifts between a heavy phonics emphasis (associated with conservatism) and little or no phonics emphasis (progressivism) for k-3 language instruction.
Years of research has shown that phonics is necessary and now both red and blue states are adopting evidence based reading curricula. The Mississippi Miracle is a widely used example of the success of the phonics focus.
Similar results are seen in the math and science wars, where conservative approaches fell victim to progressivism but are now coming back thanks to evidence produced by the scientific method.
This approach mirrors the “how to think” notion that is embodied in critical thinking which has the scientific method at its core.
I'd like to think that this is so. However, 48 States currently do NOT teach the traditional Scientific Method in K-12 Science. Let me know when that gets fixed!
I understand your frustration with the science standards. It seems reading has received the most attention and seen tangible improvement by adopting phonics, although DEI remains an element and progress is slow in blue states like VT.
John Droz offers important ideas to correct our very broken K thru 12 education system..
Yes, there are many very good public and private schools, great teachers, stellar students and student athletes. But there are far too many examples where our students can not keep up with average education systems around the world, much less the very best.
We will be following and promoting John Droz on our new website:
John Shanahan's Substack - Energy And The Modern World,
I think every child should be provided a voucher to be used at the school of their choice. This would mean that all public schools would be forced to compete with non-public schools. I suspect most public schools would continue to exist as they do now, particularly outside the large urban areas like Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, etc.
The amount of the voucher should be based on the total cost of providing education, which would include all state and local costs, including state and local administrative costs, plus local levies. For example, each student in New York City would be provided a voucher for $30,000 or so.
Schools, both public and private would be forced to provide audited results of expenditures by categories of outlays: teacher salaries and benefits, rent and building maintenance costs, local and higher level administrative costs, student transportation, provision of meals, etc.
Votes on local levies would aid all students in a district, which would have plusses in the sense that more households would be benefited but minuses in that some funds would not be directed to current school systems.
Current public schools could rent out emptied space to private/charter schools to offset the costs of providing public education.
Lincoln: You are effectively advocating for an impossibility.
A voucher would only make sense if: 1) if every area had schools offering top quality curricula, 2) if every area had sufficient size of schools to accommodate the public school transfers (50± million), and 2) if parents actually knew what high quality curricula was when they saw it.
Regarding the first Point 2, I suspect that schools that have emptied classrooms would be forced to rent out those spaces in order to remain financially solvent. Overall, there is relative balance currently in the number of classrooms and the number of students. If half the students leave public schools, then roughly half the classrooms there would be available.
As for high-quality curricula, as in any free market, only enough households need to seek high quality for it to be widespread. Decisions on quality made today by "experts" haven't done so well, particularly the decisions on education made in the Covid panic.
Lincoln: Just because a high school loses 200 students, does not mean "classrooms will be available." Even if they were, renting out some classrooms is a FAR cry from having an actual school.
Most importantly, you did not solve the problem that parents are NOT qualified to determine what makes a good curricula. I'll give you one simple example: in 49 States teaching the Scientific Method was removed from public schools over ten years ago. Where is the parental outrage against that very simple matter?
I do not think that monolithic centralization solves the problems of education. It very likely will cause even worse results. Sure all is fine if such a beauracracy is run by, funds, and enforces standards and curricula you believe in, but where has that ever been accomplished and sustained? Concentrations of power and money attract and concentrate corruption and invariably lead to less freedom. Every time. Yes many states have abysmal policies and educational outcomes, but do you want any of them enforced on everyone through political and bureaucratic fiat? We need LESS government and political involvement in education. Not more. Education is not a responsibility or power delegated to the federal level of government. Everyone wants their favorite interest imposed by a central power. Even John Stewart Mill, a strong and articulate advocate for human liberty in just about every other area, fell into this trap.
When you write "There is Only One Legitimate Solution — That is where the Department of Education (DOEd) could be profoundly helpful" even though framing it as an merely advisory role, there doesn't seem to be any other reasonable interpretation than a call for increasing centralization and central bureaucratic control (imposition of fiat standards), as "advisory" has an inevitable historical tendency to evolve into "dictate." Certainly the advocates of DEI and Critical Race Theory used authority-issued "recommendations" by the DoE to undermine critical thinking and educational standards. I agree that a return to instruction in critical thinking skills is ... well ... critical, but I disagree that a central federal "department of education" is in any way an appropriate mechanism for encouraging independent thought. Eliminating a central federal bureaucracy is not "giving more money and power to (dysfunctional) states." That power was never legitimately given to the federal government in the first place, and it is certainly not the proper role of the federal level of government to be spending and taxing to support the redistribution of wealth to those states, even for the ostensible and laudible purpose of education - critical or otherwise.
Christopher: I think your hangup on the word "central" is obstructing your vision. As I said, I did not say a single word about "monolithic centralization" — yet you chose to read that imaginary matter into it.
Further, EVERY State Dept of education is a centralized power in each State — yet I do not hear you objecting to that.
Further yet, local school boards are centrealized power (5-10 people) haveing control over tens of thousands of citizens, etc.
So please get over that fear, as that is NOT what I am advocating.
Glad to hear it. However incompetent, education however IS to some extent or another a responsibility reserved to the states and counties, not to the federal bureaucracy. A federal DoE in any manifestation is going to continue the problem you've rightly identified, and not contribute to a solution. (As are the teacher's unions, enabled by a federal labor bureaucracy.) Your approach as I read it seems to lean more federalist, rather than to promote merit and excellence through the mechanisms of market choices (which your post also seems to denigrate.)
The rise of “evidenced based instruction”, scientifically grounded in research that offers proof of superior results is helping to bring up basic skills scores. For example over the last half century the “reading wars” have lead to periodic shifts between a heavy phonics emphasis (associated with conservatism) and little or no phonics emphasis (progressivism) for k-3 language instruction.
Years of research has shown that phonics is necessary and now both red and blue states are adopting evidence based reading curricula. The Mississippi Miracle is a widely used example of the success of the phonics focus.
Similar results are seen in the math and science wars, where conservative approaches fell victim to progressivism but are now coming back thanks to evidence produced by the scientific method.
This approach mirrors the “how to think” notion that is embodied in critical thinking which has the scientific method at its core.
Steve:
I'd like to think that this is so. However, 48 States currently do NOT teach the traditional Scientific Method in K-12 Science. Let me know when that gets fixed!
I understand your frustration with the science standards. It seems reading has received the most attention and seen tangible improvement by adopting phonics, although DEI remains an element and progress is slow in blue states like VT.
John Droz offers important ideas to correct our very broken K thru 12 education system..
Yes, there are many very good public and private schools, great teachers, stellar students and student athletes. But there are far too many examples where our students can not keep up with average education systems around the world, much less the very best.
We will be following and promoting John Droz on our new website:
John Shanahan's Substack - Energy And The Modern World,
johnshanahan.substack.com.
John: Thank you for your support. This issue is to important to fail.
I think a more fundamental change is required.
I think every child should be provided a voucher to be used at the school of their choice. This would mean that all public schools would be forced to compete with non-public schools. I suspect most public schools would continue to exist as they do now, particularly outside the large urban areas like Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, etc.
The amount of the voucher should be based on the total cost of providing education, which would include all state and local costs, including state and local administrative costs, plus local levies. For example, each student in New York City would be provided a voucher for $30,000 or so.
Schools, both public and private would be forced to provide audited results of expenditures by categories of outlays: teacher salaries and benefits, rent and building maintenance costs, local and higher level administrative costs, student transportation, provision of meals, etc.
Votes on local levies would aid all students in a district, which would have plusses in the sense that more households would be benefited but minuses in that some funds would not be directed to current school systems.
Current public schools could rent out emptied space to private/charter schools to offset the costs of providing public education.
Lincoln: You are effectively advocating for an impossibility.
A voucher would only make sense if: 1) if every area had schools offering top quality curricula, 2) if every area had sufficient size of schools to accommodate the public school transfers (50± million), and 2) if parents actually knew what high quality curricula was when they saw it.
Neither one of these is remotely true.
My solution is a hundred times easier.
Regarding the first Point 2, I suspect that schools that have emptied classrooms would be forced to rent out those spaces in order to remain financially solvent. Overall, there is relative balance currently in the number of classrooms and the number of students. If half the students leave public schools, then roughly half the classrooms there would be available.
As for high-quality curricula, as in any free market, only enough households need to seek high quality for it to be widespread. Decisions on quality made today by "experts" haven't done so well, particularly the decisions on education made in the Covid panic.
Lincoln: Just because a high school loses 200 students, does not mean "classrooms will be available." Even if they were, renting out some classrooms is a FAR cry from having an actual school.
Most importantly, you did not solve the problem that parents are NOT qualified to determine what makes a good curricula. I'll give you one simple example: in 49 States teaching the Scientific Method was removed from public schools over ten years ago. Where is the parental outrage against that very simple matter?
My solution is enormously better than vouchers.
I do not think that monolithic centralization solves the problems of education. It very likely will cause even worse results. Sure all is fine if such a beauracracy is run by, funds, and enforces standards and curricula you believe in, but where has that ever been accomplished and sustained? Concentrations of power and money attract and concentrate corruption and invariably lead to less freedom. Every time. Yes many states have abysmal policies and educational outcomes, but do you want any of them enforced on everyone through political and bureaucratic fiat? We need LESS government and political involvement in education. Not more. Education is not a responsibility or power delegated to the federal level of government. Everyone wants their favorite interest imposed by a central power. Even John Stewart Mill, a strong and articulate advocate for human liberty in just about every other area, fell into this trap.
Christopher: You are responding to the wrong Substack commentary, as I did not say a single word about "monolithic centralization."
When you write "There is Only One Legitimate Solution — That is where the Department of Education (DOEd) could be profoundly helpful" even though framing it as an merely advisory role, there doesn't seem to be any other reasonable interpretation than a call for increasing centralization and central bureaucratic control (imposition of fiat standards), as "advisory" has an inevitable historical tendency to evolve into "dictate." Certainly the advocates of DEI and Critical Race Theory used authority-issued "recommendations" by the DoE to undermine critical thinking and educational standards. I agree that a return to instruction in critical thinking skills is ... well ... critical, but I disagree that a central federal "department of education" is in any way an appropriate mechanism for encouraging independent thought. Eliminating a central federal bureaucracy is not "giving more money and power to (dysfunctional) states." That power was never legitimately given to the federal government in the first place, and it is certainly not the proper role of the federal level of government to be spending and taxing to support the redistribution of wealth to those states, even for the ostensible and laudible purpose of education - critical or otherwise.
Christopher: I think your hangup on the word "central" is obstructing your vision. As I said, I did not say a single word about "monolithic centralization" — yet you chose to read that imaginary matter into it.
Further, EVERY State Dept of education is a centralized power in each State — yet I do not hear you objecting to that.
Further yet, local school boards are centrealized power (5-10 people) haveing control over tens of thousands of citizens, etc.
So please get over that fear, as that is NOT what I am advocating.
Glad to hear it. However incompetent, education however IS to some extent or another a responsibility reserved to the states and counties, not to the federal bureaucracy. A federal DoE in any manifestation is going to continue the problem you've rightly identified, and not contribute to a solution. (As are the teacher's unions, enabled by a federal labor bureaucracy.) Your approach as I read it seems to lean more federalist, rather than to promote merit and excellence through the mechanisms of market choices (which your post also seems to denigrate.)
Christopher: As polite as I can be, you are mistaken. At this time there are ZERO states that have a quality K-12 education department. NONE.
States clearly need GUIDANCE. If set up properly, that is what the DOEd can do. This option is not perfect, but it is FAR better than any other.
FYI, In this case I would humbly suggest that your beliefs are holding you back <https://substack.com/home/post/p-115458952>.