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January 9, 2013
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T ie w A s ic
OF THE,
MARKET/
Shortchanging the Public School System
Charter Schools
not the solution
w
by E mily S chwartz G reco
and
W illiam A. C ollins
As the latest round of data culled
from tests taken by schoolchildren
around the world showed yet again,
kids in Finland, South Korea, and
other countries are outscoring our
kids. Overall, we’re ranked No. 17.
O ur schoolchildren perform
worse overall than they should be­
cause of one simple reason: eco­
nomic inequality.
Our rich country has too many
poor kids whose educations suffer
from their poor health and poor diet.
Those disadvantaged students who
lack access to strong early child­
hood education programs like Head
Start are already behind when they
get to kindergarten.
This isn’t rocket science but it’s
tough to cure. Families in this fix
need reliable health care, adequate
nutrition, access to free or inexpen­
sive preschools, decent housing,
and small-sized classes for their kids niche that includes the privately run teeth.
All those things cost big money and charter schools that now educate
Kids at schools with affluent
tight belts are in style these days. two million American kids.
student bodies outscore schools
Not to worry. Americans are noth­
Billed as a way to expand paren­ serving im poverished children on
ing if not shrewd, especially our tal choice and administrative au­
those international tests, V alerie
I business leaders. They’re big boost­
tonomy, charters also siphon money Strauss recently pointed out in
ers of the latest educational fad. out of the public school system.
her A nsw er Sheet blog on The
Instead o f doing something to end Their explosive growth is a bit baf­
W ashington P o st’s website. “That
poverty or mitigate its impact on our fling, though.
is true on all standardized tests.
kids, we’re supposed to just blame
T ypically, charters get estab­ And that continues to be the real
teachers for the academic shortcom­ lished on the basis o f prom ises
story in U.S. education.”
ings o f poor children.
that th ey ’re absolutely necessary
Yes, millions of children with fewer
To make it easier to blame teach­ because test scores are abysm ally
advantages do need a better educa­
ers for circumstances beyond their low. Then, once th ey ’re up and
tion than they’re getting.
control, our public schools now running, their big-m oney boost­
There are only three clear but
subject kids to an endlessly expand­ ers im plore everyone to ignore
hard solutions to that problem :
ing battery of tests. When a bunch any test scores that d o n ’t im ­
m ore econom ic equality, ending
of students who fare poorly all have prove, along with any increases
the racial and class segregation o f
the same teacher, her job is on the in segregation, dropout rates, and
our increasingly diverse public
line.
teacher burnout.
school stu d en ts, and creatin g
Remember George W. Bush?
The debate over charters and m ore parity in the funding en­
While the Republican Party has the plight o f our public schools
jo y ed by all school system s, re ­
struggled mightily to erase him from has m oved from PTA m eetings to
gardless o f the affluence o f their
the American voter’s conscious­ corporate board room s. It’s all the
student bodies.
ness, his mark on education is hard rage for Bill and M elinda Gates,
Charters and high-stakes testing
to miss, thanks to the deep-reach­ Sam W alton’s heirs, and other
can’t possibly solve the real prob­
ing tentacles of his No Child Left like-m inded billionaires.
lems haunting our nation’s educa­
Behind law.
But how could teachers be the tional system.
That cynical system is still m ak­ cause of our kids’ overall mediocre
Emily Schwartz Greco is the
ing teachers fume, dividing parents, academic achievement when rich
managing editor o f OtherWords, a
and diverting funding from key edu­ A m erican students are already
non-profit national editorial ser­
cational priorities.
among the world’s highest achiev­ vice run by the Institute fo r Policy
O f course, it’s good for some ers? No real education emergency is
Studies. OtherWords columnist
folks. The standardized testing busi­ hindering their academic vitality,
William A. Collins is a former state
ness is booming. And there’s a including in states where teachers
representative and a former mayor
whole new corporate education are free to organize real unions with
o f Norwalk, Conn.