During the 1980s, widespread dissatisfaction with America's schools gave rise to a powerful movement for educational change, and the nation's political institutions responded with aggressive reforms. Chubb and Moe argue that these reforms are destined to fail because they do not get to the root of the problem. The fundamental causes of poor academic performance, they claim, are not to be found in the schools, but rather in the institutions of direct democratic control by which the schools have traditionally been governed. Reformers fail to solve the problem-when the institutions ARE the problem. The authors recommend a new system of public education, built around parent-student choice and school competition, that would promote school autonomy thus providing a firm foundation for genuine school improvement and superior student achievement.
- ISBN13 9780815714101
- Publish Date 30 June 1990 (first published 1 June 1990)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 5 November 2022
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Brookings Institution
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 196
- Language English