As Good As It Gets - What School Reform Brought to Austin

Erscheinungsjahr 2010
ISBN: 978-0-674-03554-6
Verlag: Harvard University Press

Buch, Englisch, 304 Seiten, Format (B × H): 148 mm x 214 mm, Gewicht: 454 g

Take an economically and racially diverse urban school district emerging from a long history of segregation. Add an energetic, capable, bridge-building superintendent with ambitious district-wide goals to improve graduation rates, school attendance, and academic performance. Consider that he was well funded and strongly supported by city leaders, teachers, and parents, and ask how much changed in a decade of his tenure—and what remained unchanged? Larry Cuban takes this richly detailed history of the Austin, Texas, school district, under Superintendent Pat Forgione, to ask the question that few politicians and school reformers want to touch. Given effective use of widely welcomed reforms, can school policies and practices put all children at the same academic level? Are class and ethnic differences in academic performance within the power of schools to change? Cuban argues that the overall district has shown much improvement—better test scores, more high school graduates, and more qualified teachers. But the improvements are unevenly distributed. The elementary schools improved, as did the high schools located in affluent, well-educated, largely white neighborhoods. But the least improvement came where it was needed most: the predominantly poor, black, and Latino high schools. Before Forgione arrived, over 10 percent of district schools were failing, and after he left office, roughly the same percentage continued to fail. Austin’s signal successes amid failure hold answers to tough questions facing urban district leaders across the nation.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cuban, Larry

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Studien zu einzelnen Ländern und Gebieten
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Kommunal-, Regional-, und Landespolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Pädagogik Bildungssystem Prüfungen und Beurteilungen
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Sozialpolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Pädagogik Bildungssystem Bildungspolitik, Bildungsreform

Über Autor(innen)

Cuban, Larry
Larry Cuban is Professor Emeritus of Education at Stanford University and past president of the American Educational Research Association.