The Roots of Low Achievement: Where to Begin Altering Them

The chief purpose of this book is to explain how public education in this country became dysfunctional as a result of the education policies and programs funded by the federal government to address low academic achievement. It highlights student effort as a central factor in academic achievement, based on research noting its significance. Teachers and school administrators cannot make children ready for college or career by grade 12 if their parents do not make them ready for school learning by kindergarten or grade 1. Once both the schools and students’ parents together made students ready for membership in our civic culture. They learned they were politically equal to each other, with a shared civic identity, regardless of academic achievement. Yet, policy makers at USED and philanthropists in this country with a professed interest in the education of low achievers want low achievers to believe that their academic status is all that matters and that they haven’t succeeded academically because of bigoted teachers, administrators, and communities. Parent/school partnerships need to revive their community’s agreed-upon mission for public education if we are to alter the roots of low achievement in this country.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter One: The Deteriorating Curriculum in American High Schools Chapter Two: What Policy Makers, Educators, and Education Researchers Have Examined Chapter Three: Teachers of Minority Students in 1966 Chapter Four: Non-School Factors Influencing Low Achievement Chapter Five: What Non-Education Researchers Have Explored Since 1966 Chapter Six: Why Philanthropists Have Wasted Money on Low-Achieving Schools Chapter Seven: Why We Don’t Learn from Failed OR Effective Policies Chapter Eight: Public Deception Chapter Nine: Gap-Closing as an Educational Goal Chapter Ten: How to Begin Altering the Roots of Low Achievement About the Author

About the Author :
Sandra Stotsky, professor of education emerita, University of Arkansas, was senior associate commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education from 1999 to 2003, in charge of developing or revising K-12 standards in all major subjects, teacher and administrator licensing regulations, teacher licensure tests, and professional development criteria. She served on the Common Core Validation Committee from 2009 to 2010 but refused to sign off on these standards on the grounds that they were not (1) research-based, (2) internationally benchmarked, or (3) rigorous.

Review :
Whether you are a teacher, administrator or parent, in The Roots of Low Achievement, Sandra Stotsky provides an excellent summary of American education history covering the major players, policies and failures in K-12 education from the last 120 years. If we are to “fix” education, we need to know what has been tried, its efficacy and whether we are even pursuing the appropriate goal. Relatively short, easy to digest chapters that hit the highlights of education policy and research are conveniently summed up in Key Ideas to Remember at the end of each chapter. The book ends with a set of interesting recommendations for what we can do to begin strengthening the school curriculum for all students, including our poorest education performers, as well as the academic backgrounds of prospective and practicing teachers. We also need to begin needed national discussions about the purpose that parents and others want for our public schools—gap closing, curriculum choice in high school, participatory activities outside of the schools, workforce development, or something else? Parents are increasingly aware that "something" is wrong in public education The Roots of Low Achievement helps parents identify what's not working: Centralized educational programs based on reaching equity, not individual student academic excellence. How do we increase the decision-making authority of parents, teachers, and local schools in educational policies?  Stotsky offers ideas which should ignite discussions between parents, state legislators, school boards, administrators and teachers who are seriously alarmed at the continuing failed educational polices over the last several decades.     Unlike most pundits eager to foist yet another policy fad on the US education system, Sandra Stotsky has actually put in the long hours working out the details, reaching consensus, making adjustments, and managing systemwide solutions that work. Her patient work was integral to the Massachusetts education miracle, the envy of 49 states. An internationally-known and highly-respected scholar as well as an accomplished state government administrator, Stotsky epitomizes the successful application of research to practice. Her measured words carry the weight of reason and experience and should be read by anyone wishing to improve our schools' work. “No excuses” has been a rallying call for those who will not accept the blame shifting that perpetuates an education system that betrays America’s school children and compromises the future of our nation.  Dr. Stotsky digs deeply and analytically into the root causes of low achievement.  Her important study clears the way for a new understanding and new action to educate for informed citizenship and a satisfying future.  Sandra Stotsky’s thoughtful and provocative book compels us to provide equitable education standards that uplift all students. Watering down curriculum and pedagogy only serves to widen an achievement gap based on one’s zip code. Language and reasoning, then, must be at the forefront for forging civic dialogue. This book is a must read for constructing a civic ethos. For more than fifty years K-12 educators have championed "school reform," yet student learning does not appear to have improved to any considerable degree. An experienced analyst of education, Sandra Stotsky has written a powerful new book that reviews this sad history. She notes that policy makers have not learned from either failed or effective policies. Most importantly, Stotsky concludes that, particularly for low achieving students, the ideal of equality of citizenship in America’s constitutional democracy needs to be restored as the goal of K-12 public education.