Common Core, Part 12

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 U.S. 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...