Forget everything you think you know about school reform. Cutting through the cant, sentiment, and obfuscation characterizing the current school reform debate, Frederick M. Hess lacerates the conventional "status quo" reform efforts and exposes the naivete underlying reform strategies that rest on solutions like class size reduction, small schools, and enhanced professional development. He explains that real improvement requires a bracing regime of common sense reforms that create a culture of competence by rewarding excellence, punishing failure, and giving educators the freedom and flexibility to do their work. He documents the scope of the challenges we face and then provides concrete recommendations for addressing them through reforms to promote accountability, competition, a 21st-century workforce, effective school leadership, and sensible reinvention. Engagingly written and drawing on real world experiences and examples, Common Sense School Reform will generate debate and help set the agenda for the future.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Common Sense School Reform delivers exactly what it promises: a no-holds-barred, sensible approach to school reform, stripped bare of the utopian rhetoric and pie-in-the-sky promises that so many school reformers prefer. School leaders should read this book!"--Diane Ravitch, author of The Language Police and Research Professor, New York University
"This is a refreshingly direct and stimulating look at competing visions of educational reform and a passionate argument for radical change. Informed by Hess' experience as a teacher, teacher educator, and scholar, this book will help crystallize key disputes while it unapologetically calls some questionable assumptions out into the open for debate."--Andrew J. Rotherham, Director, 21st Century Schools Project, Progressive Policy Institute
"[Hess'] ideas on how to improve schools are welcome relief from the romantics and ideologues who dominate the national education debate."--Tom Loveless, Senior Fellow and Director, Brown Center on Education Policy, Brookings Institution
"Rick Hess has brought a rare intellectual gift to the subject of school reform: plain common sense. He knows American education, he knows how effective organizations work, and that knowledge has shaped a radical vision of the fundamental structural change that real school improvement demands. Common Sense School Reform is a gem. It should become a handbook for all who are seriously committed to educating America's children."--Abigail Thernstrom, co-author, No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning
"Common Sense School Reform prescribes with unblinking realism what must happen for public education to give children the education they need instead of adults the employment they want. This is a book no one concerned with American education should miss. Absent common sense reforms, urban public education as we know it today is bound to disappear."--Alan D. Bersin, Secretary of Education for the State of California
"An important contribution that will challenge school reformers."--Ronald F. Ferguson, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
"With an insider's knowledge, and an outsider's vantage point, Hess questions old assumptions and prods the conventional wisdom on school reform. His arguments for radical change may leave some feeling uncomfortable, but you needn't agree with all of his characterizations to find his provocative observations an important contribution to the dialogue on public school improvement."--Kim Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund
". . . he is a forceful and effective writer whose views challenge the education establishment. A parent or teacher who wants to know why our schools are in such bad shape should find 'Common Sense School Reform' an excellent guide to the problems that American education faces today."--Martin Morse Wooster, Sunday Times
"This is a refreshingly direct and stimulating look at competing visions of educational reform and a passionate argument for radical change. Informed by Hess' experience as a teacher, teacher educator, and scholar, this book will help crystallize key disputes while it unapologetically calls some questionable assumptions out into the open for debate."--Andrew J. Rotherham, Director, 21st Century Schools Project, Progressive Policy Institute
"[Hess'] ideas on how to improve schools are welcome relief from the romantics and ideologues who dominate the national education debate."--Tom Loveless, Senior Fellow and Director, Brown Center on Education Policy, Brookings Institution
"Rick Hess has brought a rare intellectual gift to the subject of school reform: plain common sense. He knows American education, he knows how effective organizations work, and that knowledge has shaped a radical vision of the fundamental structural change that real school improvement demands. Common Sense School Reform is a gem. It should become a handbook for all who are seriously committed to educating America's children."--Abigail Thernstrom, co-author, No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning
"Common Sense School Reform prescribes with unblinking realism what must happen for public education to give children the education they need instead of adults the employment they want. This is a book no one concerned with American education should miss. Absent common sense reforms, urban public education as we know it today is bound to disappear."--Alan D. Bersin, Secretary of Education for the State of California
"An important contribution that will challenge school reformers."--Ronald F. Ferguson, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
"With an insider's knowledge, and an outsider's vantage point, Hess questions old assumptions and prods the conventional wisdom on school reform. His arguments for radical change may leave some feeling uncomfortable, but you needn't agree with all of his characterizations to find his provocative observations an important contribution to the dialogue on public school improvement."--Kim Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund
". . . he is a forceful and effective writer whose views challenge the education establishment. A parent or teacher who wants to know why our schools are in such bad shape should find 'Common Sense School Reform' an excellent guide to the problems that American education faces today."--Martin Morse Wooster, Sunday Times
From the Inside Flap
"Common Sense School Reform delivers exactly what it promises: a no-holds-barred, sensible approach to school reform, stripped bare of the utopian rhetoric and pie-in-the-sky promises that so many school reformers prefer. School leaders should read this book!"--Diane Ravitch, author of The Language Police and Research Professor, New York University
"This is a refreshingly direct and stimulating look at competing visions of educational reform and a passionate argument for radical change. Informed by Hess' experience as a teacher, teacher educator, and scholar, this book will help crystallize key disputes while it unapologetically calls some questionable assumptions out into the open for debate."--Andrew J. Rotherham, Director, 21st Century Schools Project, Progressive Policy Institute
"In this book, Rick Hess performs a valuable public service. His analysis of school reform is both thoughtful and provocative. His ideas on how to improve schools are welcome relief from the romantics and ideologues who dominate the national education debate."--Tom Loveless, Senior Fellow and Director, Brown Center on Education Policy, Brookings Institution
"Rick Hess has brought a rare intellectual gift to the subject of school reform: plain common sense. He knows American education, he knows how effective organizations work, and that knowledge has shaped a radical vision of the fundamental structural change that real school improvement demands. Common Sense School Reform is a gem. It should become a handbook for all who are seriously committed to educating America's children."--Abigail Thernstrom, co-author, No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning
"With an insider's knowledge, and an outsider's vantage point, Hess questions old assumptions and prods the conventional wisdom on school reform. His arguments for radical change may leave some feeling uncomfortable, but you needn't agree with all of his characterizations to find his provocative observations an important contribution to the dialogue on public school improvement."--Kim Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund
"Common Sense School Reform prescribes with unblinking realism what must happen for public education to give children the education they need instead of adults the employment they want. Hess details deftly how our public schools can succeed by embracing accountability, incentives, flexibility and competition. This is a book no one concerned with American education should miss. Absent common sense reforms, public education as we know it today is bound to disappear."--Alan D. Bersin, Superintendent of Public Education, San Diego City Schools
"Few will agree with everything that Frederick Hess asserts in this book. Many, like I, will think he is too hard on what he calls 'status quo reformers.' Nonetheless, the burden of proof is now shifted to those who would disagree with his main point: that widespread improvement in U.S. schools will remain a pipedream without painful adjustments. An important contribution that will challenge school reformers."--Ronald F. Ferguson, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
"This is a refreshingly direct and stimulating look at competing visions of educational reform and a passionate argument for radical change. Informed by Hess' experience as a teacher, teacher educator, and scholar, this book will help crystallize key disputes while it unapologetically calls some questionable assumptions out into the open for debate."--Andrew J. Rotherham, Director, 21st Century Schools Project, Progressive Policy Institute
"In this book, Rick Hess performs a valuable public service. His analysis of school reform is both thoughtful and provocative. His ideas on how to improve schools are welcome relief from the romantics and ideologues who dominate the national education debate."--Tom Loveless, Senior Fellow and Director, Brown Center on Education Policy, Brookings Institution
"Rick Hess has brought a rare intellectual gift to the subject of school reform: plain common sense. He knows American education, he knows how effective organizations work, and that knowledge has shaped a radical vision of the fundamental structural change that real school improvement demands. Common Sense School Reform is a gem. It should become a handbook for all who are seriously committed to educating America's children."--Abigail Thernstrom, co-author, No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning
"With an insider's knowledge, and an outsider's vantage point, Hess questions old assumptions and prods the conventional wisdom on school reform. His arguments for radical change may leave some feeling uncomfortable, but you needn't agree with all of his characterizations to find his provocative observations an important contribution to the dialogue on public school improvement."--Kim Smith, Co-Founder and CEO of NewSchools Venture Fund
"Common Sense School Reform prescribes with unblinking realism what must happen for public education to give children the education they need instead of adults the employment they want. Hess details deftly how our public schools can succeed by embracing accountability, incentives, flexibility and competition. This is a book no one concerned with American education should miss. Absent common sense reforms, public education as we know it today is bound to disappear."--Alan D. Bersin, Superintendent of Public Education, San Diego City Schools
"Few will agree with everything that Frederick Hess asserts in this book. Many, like I, will think he is too hard on what he calls 'status quo reformers.' Nonetheless, the burden of proof is now shifted to those who would disagree with his main point: that widespread improvement in U.S. schools will remain a pipedream without painful adjustments. An important contribution that will challenge school reformers."--Ronald F. Ferguson, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good ideas on how to improve public schools,
By
This review is from: Common Sense School Reform (Hardcover)
This book makes a number of good points about the basic problems of public education in America today. It is easy for school reformers to get distracted from what they have influence over. Many school reformers point to factors outside their control, "education will get better with better nutrition, or better families, etc..." Frederick Hess says this approach lets teachers and administrators off the hook. Frederick Hess talks about some specifics of the problems with education in public schools, for example: teachers are hired with very little attention to merit, or principals can't deny pay raises to ineffective teachers. In talking about reform Frederick Hess makes the distinction between two types of school reformers. First are those who want cosmetic reform, without changing anything fundamental. He calls this "status quo" reformers, for they want to preserve the status quo. The second type of reformer he calls the "common sense" reformers, those who recognize that to truly fix public education we need to make major changes. The book is good; there is a lot of insight into the problems with education in America. For anyone interested in learning about the problems of public educations, and way to help make things better, this is a good book to read.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great addition to the debate,
This review is from: Common Sense School Reform (Hardcover)
As a teacher, I have often been frustrated by structural impediments that force some students to contend with subpar instruction. Although I don't know if all of Dr. Hess's suggestions will improve this situation in a timely fashion, I am heartened to know that there are people out there thinking outside the box and offering different answers. The problems we encounter cannot be chalked up to lack of funding or parental support. It is time to move beyond those excuses and consider options like those offered in this book to improve our school systems today even without the ideal conditions we would like.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful and Thought-Provoking Work,
This review is from: Common Sense School Reform (Hardcover)
It's amazing that the dichotomy Frederick Hess offers in his book between those who can truly help our public schools serve children better and those who are too self-interested to take such steps has never been clearly elucidated before. He underscores the simple first steps that can be taken to school improvement and I would love see some of his suggestions implemented. Hess's insights would be a cost-effective means of providing the quality schooling our nation needs to ensure our children can be competitive in a global marketplace.
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
"School reform is the province of utopians, apologists, and well-intentioned practitioners who inhabit a cloistered world where conviction long ago displaced competence." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
commonsense reformer, quo reformers, gatekeeping skills, charter schooling, status quo crowd, choice enthusiasts, commonsense change, professional education community, charter school laws, teacher licensure, traditional public schools, commonsense measures, ineffective teachers, ineffective schools, choice proponents, troubled schools, charter schools Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Los Angeles, United States, African American, Department of Education, Harvard University, New Jersey, Public Agenda, American Federation of Teachers, Postal Service, Baltimore City, Florida Virtual, National Education Association, Conclusion Commonsense, Defense Department, Marilyn Cochran-Smith, Michael Apple, National Assessment of Educational Progress, Ohio State University New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
"School reform is the province of utopians, apologists, and well-intentioned practitioners who inhabit a cloistered world where conviction long ago displaced competence." Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
commonsense reformer, quo reformers, gatekeeping skills, charter schooling, status quo crowd, choice enthusiasts, commonsense change, professional education community, charter school laws, teacher licensure, traditional public schools, commonsense measures, ineffective teachers, ineffective schools, choice proponents, troubled schools, charter schools Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Los Angeles, United States, African American, Department of Education, Harvard University, New Jersey, Public Agenda, American Federation of Teachers, Postal Service, Baltimore City, Florida Virtual, National Education Association, Conclusion Commonsense, Defense Department, Marilyn Cochran-Smith, Michael Apple, National Assessment of Educational Progress, Ohio State University New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 66
books:
See all 66 books this book cites
2
books
cite this book:
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't by Jim Collins on 4 pages
- Schools, Vouchers, and the American Public by Terry M. Moe in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools by Jonathan Kozol on page 193, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Making Schools Work: Improving Performance and Controlling Costs by Eric A. Hanushek in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Choice with Equity: An Assessment of the Koret Task Force on K-12 Education (HOOVER INST PRESS PUBLICATION) by Paul T. Hill on page 93, and Back Matter
See all 66 books this book cites
- School Choice After the Collapse of Public Schools by Richard Neal in Back Matter
- Leaving No Child Behind?: Options for Kids in Failing Schools by Frederick M. Hess in Back Matter
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