ext_90803 ([identity profile] badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] talkpolitics 2011-02-17 09:38 pm (UTC)

What has been centralized more and more? States set guidelines, buy textbooks, do their own testing, etc. School boards and principals do the hiring and firing and run the actual operations.

Education. The school boards are still in charge, some in more states than others, but national implementation of acts like No Child Left Behind has worsened the situation and created mandates that are nonsensical.

And yes, how much is enough? People complain about education spending without putting forth any ideas about the most efficient way to run our system.

There's no one easy answer, but the solution has to include local accountability with strong support for good teachers, good schools, and an increase in parental involvement. None of those things can be achieved by national mandates or a centralization of educational power, and have, in fact, curtailed those very things.

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