School Reform

The subject of school reform has come up again. Pres. Obama's Education Secretary, Arne Duncan has written an article in the Washington Post calling for, and predicting bi-partisan reform of education. Surprise, surprise, it is the teacher's fault again. Here is a key quote:

Parents, teachers, and lawmakers want a system that measures not just an
arbitrary level of proficiency, but student growth and school progress in ways
that better reflect the impact of a school and its teachers on student learning.

Sounds great huh? But notice what is missing? There is no mention of the impact that parents have on student learning. There is no mention of the impact students have on student learning. The biggest problems facing education today are not teachers and schools (although there are bad teachers and bad schools), they are bad parents and bad students. Parents and students who don't give a damn about student learning. But teachers are an easy target, and teacher unions an easier one.

The quickest and easiest school reform that will have a real impact on student learning is to allow schools to start kicking out students who don't try and/or are discipline problems again.