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The Interaction of Reform and the Achievement of All Students Analytic Essay Pages 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Appendices | References |
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Since Sputnik achieved orbit in 1957, the United States has been actively involved in the business of reforming its schools - through curricula, infusion of technology, legislation and funds for targeted groups, restructuring of space and time, and accountability systems. These reforms have emanated from research laboratories, university professors, private corporations, and federal and state governments. Now, over forty years later, debate continues over the impact reform has had on the operation and climates of schools, goals and achievements of schools and students, and each other. For most of this period, the debate has served as a reminder of the resistance to change of educational institutions and the difficulty of studying change when it does occur (see e.g., Ball, 1994; Cuban, 1992; Fullan, 1991; McLaughlin, 1976; Oakes, 1993; Sarason, 1982). When we initiated our proposal to study the relationship between educational reform and the problem of bridging achievement gaps, we were familiar with issues related to resistance to change and the repetitive nature of reform waves (see Alexander & Knight, 1993; Erlandson & House, 1971). We framed the study of reforms as 'solutions' to the 'problem' of achievement differences between certain ethnic and socioeconomic groups. As such, we proposed to investigate the relationship between the problem and solutions in one district that had experienced success in closing the gap. In our study of previous reform cycles, we drew on articles by Getzels and Csikszentmilhalyi (Getzels, 1964,1975, 1982; Getzels & Csikszentmilhalyi, 1976) to focus our thinking and provide the framework for this essay. Their work concentrated on the quality of problem formulation (problem finding) and was termed "the problem of the problem". Summarized briefly, the quality of the solution is dependent on the quality of the question that defines the problem. From this perspective, we might apply good strategies to poorly formulated problems, addressing only symptoms of the problem. Applied to our work, the 'problem of the problem' refers to the study of achievement gaps within the contexts in which they occur. However, the achievement gap might merely be a symptom. Reformulation of the problem might result in more productive problem solving that addresses core conditions producing these symptoms. Similarly, we encountered in our analysis the 'problem of the solution' as another aspect not always addressed when considering implementation of reform. Proposed solutions may successfully address defined problems, but may have unanticipated outcomes that make the solution less desirable. In other words, the solution may create new problems, perhaps even more severe than the original problem. In our work, the 'problem of the solution' manifests itself in the impact of reforms individually and in interaction with other reforms to address similar or different problems. Without analysis of how reforms work together and possible undesirable interactions, wholesale implementation of reform becomes a risky undertaking. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to contextualize within one district the 'problem of the problem', or the problem of the achievement gap, and the 'problem of the solution', or the problem of the impact of multiple, interacting reforms, and to propose how these might be further examined.
The Problem of the Problem Despite the considerable reform efforts of the past decade, two traditionally held values for public schooling, equity and excellence, have yet to be simultaneously realized on a wide-spread basis in US schools. Children of color and poor children have experienced significantly lower levels of school success than their white and more economically advantaged peers, regardless of how that success has been defined and measured, i.e., standardized test scores, graduation rates, college admission rates, enrollment in advanced courses (Banks, 1997; Ogbu, 1992). The fact that our children experience differential levels of success in school, distributed along race and social class lines, continues to be the central problem of education in this country (Hatch, 1998). The problem may be framed in several ways. Numerous arguments can be made against defining the problem in terms of race comparative studies, including the use of a 'standard' which does not equate racial groups on culturally relevant variables (see e.g., Cooper & Dorr, 1995; Scheurich & Young, 1997; Singham, 1998). An alternate way of framing the problem resides in the reasons and conditions that relate to the achievement gap. For example, some minorities (blacks and females) may be subject to a "stereotype threat" under certain conditions that results in lowered performance on standardized tests (Steele & Aronson, 1998). This may have implications for district use of interventions for minorities that publicly segregate them from other groups, triggering the stereotype threat due to perceived lack of ability. In a similar vein, stereotypical notions of minority performance may skew teachers' expectations of students and subsequent classroom interactions (Ferguson, 1998). Furthermore, some researchers and educators have suggested that the achievement gap may be a harbinger of problems in general with society or with a passive educational delivery system which is inadequate for all students (Singham, 1998). An even more serious challenge in framing the problem may be recognizing what other kinds of information are needed for decision-making in addition to, or even instead of, the test results available. While test scores may be important indicators of future success, other indicators such as class standing, grades, awards for performances, and enrollment in demanding classes provide meaningful information.
The Problem of the Solution Characterization of the achievement gap from different perspectives has resulted in a number of solutions to the putative problem. In their zeal to improve conditions of learning for 'all students', schools often adopt more than one innovation simultaneously. The complexity of the innovations, even when considered individually, has made investigation of their impact difficult at best. The differential effects of the unique contexts in which they operate have added to the difficulty. Even less is known about how various innovations interact when implemented together. Concurrent with the proliferation of systematic school reform models, state-level efforts across the country have focused on the outcomes of education and have suggested that accountability provides the solution to our educational woes. Accountability is currently the single most prominent issue in educational policy at the national, state, and local level (Olsen, 1999). However, little is known about how the state-level focus on accountability interacts with national or local school reform to impact the various faces of academic performance displayed by different groups of students.
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