Root cause of education problems needs addressed

Ever since Sputnik ascended the heavens in 1957, education reforms have consistently failed to improve schools.

Why has there been no improvement? David Berliner offers an answer: Failure does not reside inside the schools. He states: "The sources of America's educational problems are outside school, primarily a result of income inequality."

However, the US Department of Education's goal is that "with better teaching, we will have more learning [higher test scores], and this will improve the economy." As Berliner notes, this key policy of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act "rests primarily on assessment to promote changes within school to accomplish that goal."

Linda Perlstein, education consultant, observes that NCLB and the standards movement, have actually increased the disparities between rich and poor. "The practice of focusing on the tested subjects of reading and math at the expense of a well-rounded curriculum is far more prevalent where children are poor and minority."

In a Diane Ravitch blog for July 7, 2013, a superintendent from upstate New York expressed best the problem: "The issue has always been poverty.... It is easier and more expedient for politicians and naysayers in general to attack schools ... rather than address the root cause of the discrepancies -- multi-generational systemic proverty. We have known about the impact of poverty on student achievement for hundreds of years. We have known how standardized test scores are skewed by zip code for years. Even the inventors of standardized testing ... argued that they should be used judiciously because they are so sensitive to environment."

If we continue to "giddyap" this dead horse called education reform or Common Core, we are in for disappointment. If we address poverty's impact on learning, we will begin to deal with what matters most for children, parents, and teachers.

Duane Pitts is a retired English teacher now living in Moses Lake. He taught English for 42 years - eight years in Valdosta, Ga; two years in Colfax; and 32 years in Odessa. As a retiree, he serving as a facilitator by helping teachers and principals learn about the new state teacher-principal evaluation project.