Countering Myths About Schools
There is a Belief that Schools Are Going Downhill... But There is More to the Story.
Many don't realize that current education standards and assessment practices are a result of state and national policies enacted in the late 1990s and early 2000s, responding to concerns about the state of education raised in reports starting in the 1980s, most notably A Nation at Risk.
High-stakes accountability is a self-perpetuating cycle.
Decades of Compliance Culture Net Negative Outcomes
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) was enacted in 2001 and in full swing by 2005. It codified “challenging” state learning standards, measured by rigorous standardized assessments. USDOE, 2002 & ESSA, 2015
As School Poverty Rates Go Up, Math and Reading Mastery Rates Go Down
Seventy-one percent of districts restricted curriculum offerings in response to NCLB. The number jumps to 97% when looking at campuses with at least 75% high-poverty students.
Rentner et al., 2006, p. 96
Hearnsberger, 2021
Driven From the Profession
Erichsen & Reynolds, 2019
It has been most acutely damaging to high-poverty schools (García & Weiss, 2019) where F ratings are more likely (TEA, 2018a, 2019e; Swaby & Cai, 2019); morale is difficult to sustain (Erichsen & Reynolds, 2019); and struggling students are viewed as troublemakers (Nichols & Dawson, 2012).
