Why Is School Reform So Hard?

The dual character of schooling invariably generates contradictory impulses when it comes to reform.

By Linda Christensen & Stan Karp

right The dual character of schooling invariably generates contradictory impulses when it comes to reform.

With districts across the nation reeling from the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act, which may put over 75 percent of the nation's schools on the "needs improvement" list, it's a good time to ask again why successful school reform is so hard.

Under the No Child Left Behind legislation, the federal government is using test scores to identify which schools will face an escalating series of mandatory "reforms," ranging from intervention by consultants to wholesale dismissal of school staffs to the imposition of private...