‘US public schools are better than they've ever been’

In a recent interview published by Vox.com, Jack Schneider, assistant professor of education at the College of the Holy Cross, reputes the idea that the United States public school education is on the decline.  Instead, Schneider says there has never been a better time to be a student in the American school system.

Schneider reasons why people believe in the downfall of education, “The first reason that people think schools are in decline is because they hear it all the time. If you hear something often enough, it becomes received wisdom, even if you can't identify the source. That rhetoric is coming from a policy machine where savvy policy leaders have figured out that the way that you get momentum is to scare the hell out of people.”

He includes that parents “are more anxious about schools than they have been at any time in American history.”

Now that schools serve far more students, including kids living in poverty, English language learners, and special needs students, they are better than they’ve ever been.  Test scores have also significantly increased over those of forty years ago, says Schneider.

In order to improve the school system Schneider adds, “Let's just figure out how to build capacity in individual schools. I would really love to hear some reformer say, my really big issue is for every school to figure out what it needs to improve and I want to create a system so that school can get the things it needs in order to improve.”

Click here to read the full interview

This “Holy Cross in the News” item by Jacqueline Smith '15.