Breaking the Cycle of Failed School Reform : What Five Failed Reforms Tell Us

This book demonstrates how school reforms of the past 200 years share many common flaws. Based on an intensive three-year study of school reform in the United States, Breaking the Cycle of Failed School Reform analyzes and critiques the following historical reform movements: Lancastrian Plan, 1806; Age-graded Plan, 1848; Gary Plan, 1906; Trump Plan, 1959; School Development Plan, 1968; and Coalition of Essential Schools, 1984. Emerging from the study was a set of reform rubrics. These six rubrics, each corresponding to twenty-six distinct variables, provide today's educators a lens through which their schools can be assessed against the historic plans. This process allows educators to easily determine their school's strengths and weaknesses with a strong sense of historical perspective. The book concludes with a set of recommendations for practitioners, policy developers, and researchers for what has to be included if school reform is to be successful in the future.

This book demonstrates how school reforms of the past 200 years share many common flaws. Based on an intensive three-year study of school reform in the United States, Breaking the Cycle of Failed School Reform analyzes and critiques the following historical reform movements: Lancastrian Plan, 1806; Age-graded Plan, 1848; Gary Plan, 1906; Trump Plan, 1959; School Development Plan, 1968; and Coalition of Essential Schools, 1984. Emerging from the study was a set of reform rubrics. These six rubrics, each corresponding to twenty-six distinct variables, provide today''s educators a lens through which their schools can be assessed against the historic plans. This process allows educators to easily determine their school''s strengths and weaknesses with a strong sense of historical perspective. The book concludes with a set of recommendations for practitioners, policy developers, and researchers for what has to be included if school reform is to be successful in the future.