Brandeis University Education Program

Brandeis University Education Program

ED 155B, Education and Social Policy

Fall 2015, Wednesdays 2-4:50 p.m.

INSTRUCTOR

Kathleen Dowcett

Lecturer in Education

Phone: 617-372-5137; Email:

Teaching Assistant: Sneha Walia,

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This weekly seminar explores the functions schools serve in society and how educational policies affect schools, teachers, and children. We will learn about several important issues central to the improvement of schools, and we will examine the problems associated with education policymaking. Our focus will be on K-12 education policy in the U.S. We will consider educational policy on multiple levels: school, district, state, and federal.

We will first consider the question what is the purpose of schooling? Assumptions and views about the aims of education have direct implications for education policy and how it is created and implemented. Next we will examine who sets policy at the local, state, and federal levels. We will study formal governance structures as well as the influence of money, research, policy, and advocacy. We will then explore the challenges and unintended consequences of policymaking through our study of some key issues and policy solutions. In particular, we will look at standards and accountability, school assignment policy, school finance, school discipline, and policies targeted at special populations (ie English language learners and students with disabilities). An examination of the roles of race, class, and privilege will be embedded throughout the course.

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

understand schools in various contexts (e.g. cultural, historical, economic, and political), and be able to articulate the ethical and civic dimensions of schooling;

think critically about educational opportunity, equity, and achievement in relation to race/ethnicity, social class, gender, and disability;

think critically and write persuasively about the various functions schools perform in a community, with special attention to issues of equality and access in our democracy; and

critically evaluate educational research, policy and practice, and develop policy recommendations.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY, CITING SOURCES, AND PLAGIARISM

You are responsible for following the policies and procedures outlined at the following sites:

For Brandeis statement on Academic Integrity, visit and section 3.

For guidance on citing your sources, visit See also

For further detailed descriptions regarding plagiarism and citation, visit

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Success in this four- credit course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, papers, discussion sections, preparation for exams, research, etc.).

READINGS

The majority of the readings will be available in a Course Pack, available for purchase. Readings for the first class will be posted on latte. In addition, required and recommended books are listed below. You can purchase them at the Brandeis bookstore or from an online bookseller (or a discount online bookseller). One or two copies of these books will be on reserve in the Education Program bookshelves, opposite room 215 of the Abraham Shapiro Academic Center.

Required:

Ravitch, D. (2010). The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education. Basic Books.

Recommended:

Chauncey, C. (2010). Strategic Priorities for School Improvement. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press.

Mehta, J., Schwartz, R.B., and Hess, F.M. (2012). The Futures of School Reform. Harvard Education Press.

Sahlberg, P. (2010). Finnish Lessons: What the World Can Learn from Educational Change in Finland. Teachers College Press.

Thomas Sobol. (2012). My Life in School: A Memoir.

SEMINAR EXPECTATIONS

I. Class Participation (20% of Grade)

Students are expected to attend class meetings regularly, read all assigned material, and participate in seminar discussions and activities. Participation and attendance in class are important components of your learning; the participation aspect of your grade will also be calculated based on how you contribute to the learning of the other students in the class. Please check your calendars; if you cannot come to class, please let me know ahead of time.

Also, please note that there is a significant amount of reading for this course. It may be advisable to form study groups to help you read and understand all of the material. You will be held responsible for all of the material in class.

II. Online Forum: Policy in the News (10% of Grade)

Education policy issues are a hot topic right now, and many high-profile policy decisions are being made at the local, state, and federal levels. We will be discussing some of thesedebates and decisions in an online forum; students are required to post at least 5 times throughout the semester. At least one post must be an original discussion topic, in which you share and summarize a news article with the class and post a response and/or discussion question. You are expected to respond to your classmates’ posts at least four times during the semester. In your posts, you should try to connect the news article to ideas and readings from class.

III. Purpose Paper (20% of Grade)

Students are required to prepare a 5-7 paper (not to exceed 7 pages) outlining your position on the purpose of education. Successful papers can take a variety of formats and should present your view, drawing on ideas from the readings and discussions. I will provide guidelines and a grading rubric. This paper is an opportunity to clearly articulate the premise from which you enter the discourse. You will have an opportunity to rewrite and resubmit the paper if you get a grade below A-.

Due in HARDCOPY 9/16/2015 (no email submissions permitted)

Optional rewrite due 10/7/2015

IV. Proposed Outline & Policy Memo on Issue of your Choice

a. Proposed Outline for Policy Memo (5% of Grade): Students should select any education issue of interest and importance in your home state. Please submit a proposed outline, following the specific guidelines I will provide you in class, stating your main line of argument and delineating the shape the paper will take (including a brief statement of the challenges you anticipate as you work on it) and a working list of references.

Due for Peer Meetings in HARDCOPY 10/21/15

Due to Professor in HARDCOPY 10/28/15.

b. Policy Memo (30% of Grade): The policy memo of 10-12 pages should describe and analyze an educational issue as it pertains specifically to the student’s home state. Papers should outline key facets of the issue, why it is important, and to whom. What is the current debate about this issue in the policy realm? What current policy solutions have been proposed or enacted? What assumptions underlie these initiatives? Who are the major constituents? Who wins? Who loses? What policy solution would you recommend? What are the major implementation challenges? What needs to happen for this solution to succeed? What intended and unintended outcomes might result from this policy? What assessment and evaluation tools will be used to determine if it has been successful?

First draft due in HARDCOPY (no email submissions permitted) 11/18/15.

You can resubmit on 12/9/15 if you received a grade of B+ or lower.

V. Small Group Presentation (15% of Grade) - presented during the last two classes

During the semester students working in groups of 4 to 6 will present a current issue in education policy and lead class discussion. Your group will be responsible for researching an approved topic and creating a session in which you effectively communicate the significance of your topic, the underlying issues at play, past and present policy initiatives, and your own policy recommendations. Your session should include summary handouts and resource recommendations for the other students in the class. Students are encouraged to be creative with regard to the organization of their session. Your group will be evaluated on your preparation and in-depth knowledge of subject, the quality of information that you provide, and the clarity and organization of the session. (Sample topics include: The Role of Religion in the Public Schools, Student Free Speech, Paths to Teacher Certification, Sex Education Curricula, Evolution and Creationism, Cheating, etc.)

ACCOMMODATIONS

If you are a student who needs academic accommodations because of a documented disability you should contact me, and present your letter of accommodation, as soon as possible. If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodation, students should contact Beth Rodgers-Kay (6-3470). I invite you to visit for more information.

EVALUATION

All assignments must be satisfactorily completed in order to receive a passing grade in the course. The approximate weights of these various assignments are as follows:

Seminar Participation (including coming prepared and having done the readings) 20%

Policy in the News Online Forum Postings 10%

Purpose Paper 20%

Policy Memo Outline 5%

Policy Memo 30%

Small Group Presentation 15%

Extra Credit:

Reflection paper on one of the recommended books.

READING ASSIGNMENTS BY SESSION

Class 1 (9/2): Introduction to the course, the topic, the syllabus, each other.

What are schools for? Please read these pieces before our class.

Kober, N. (2007) Why We Still Need Public Schools: Public Education for the Common Good. Center on Education Policy. On LATTE and online at

Gutman, A. (1987). Democratic education. Reprinted in S. M. Cahn, (Ed.)

(1997). Classic and contemporary readings in the philosophy of education.

New York: McGraw Hill. (pp. 411-435) On LATTE.

Meier, D. (1995). The power of their ideas. New York: Beacon Press. (Chapter 9, pp. 161-173) On LATTE.

Skim: Kober, N., Rentner, D., and Jennings, J. (2012 Revised Edition) A Public Education Primer: Basic (and Sometimes Surprising) Facts about the U.S. Education System. Center on Education Policy. On LATTE and online at

Class 2 (9/9): What are schools for? How does the larger society/nation help define the purposes of schools?

Graham, P. A. (1984). Schools: Cacophony about practice, silence about purpose. Daedalus, 113(4), 29-57.

hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom.

New York: Rutledge. (Introduction and Chapter 1, pp.1-22)

Rothstein, R. (2004). Class and school: Using social, economic, and educational reform to close the Black-White achievement gap. New York: Economic Policy Institute, Teachers College. (pp. 13-59)

Skim: National Center on Education and the Economy (2007). Tough Choices, Tough

Times: The Report of the new Commission on the Skills of the American Workplace

On LATTE and online at

Class 3 (9/16): Federal Government, States, Districts And Schools: What is education policy and who controls it?

**Purpose Paper Due

Jennings, J. (April, 2011). Get the Federal Government Out of Education? That wasn’t the Founding Fathers’ Vision. Center of Education Policy

Howell, W. G. (Fall 2015). Results of President Obama’s Race to the Top. Education Next.15 (4). Focus on section entitled “Asking States to Compete” and skim the rest.

Ravitch, D. (2010). NCLB: Measure and Punish. The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education. Basic Books. (pp. 93-111) [From required book; Not In Packet]

Recommended

United States. National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform : a report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education. Washington, D.C.

Miller, M. (2008). First, Kill All the School Boards. The Atlantic Online.

Class 4 (9/30): Influence: Examining the roles of money, politics, research, and activism in shaping education policy

Russakoff, D. (May 19, 2014). Schooled: Corey Booker, Chris Christie, and Mark Zuckerberg had a plan to reform Newark’s schools. They got an education. New Yorker.

Layton, L. (June 7, 2014). How Bill Gates pulled off the swift Common Core revolution. The Washington Post.

Class 5 (10/7): The Standards Debate

**Purpose Paper Rewrite Due (optional)

Ravitch, D. (2010). Hijacked! How the Standards Movement Turned into the Testing Movement. The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education. Basic Books. (pp. 15-30) [From required book; Not In Packet]

Meier, D. (2002). In schools we trust. Boston: Beacon Press. (Chapter 7: ―Standardization versus standards,‖ pp. 119-136)

Dickson, C. (5.07.14). The Wingnut War on Common Core is a Plot to Destroy Public Schools.

Klein, R (9.24.2014). This is the U.S. History Course Some Conservatives Want Dropped. Huffington Post. (The online version has access to the actual 2014 standards and a sample AP test.)

Hess, F and Eden, M (7.30.2015). Surprise – The New AP U.S. History Framework Is Scrupulously Fair-Minded. National Review. (The online version has access to the revised 2015 standards.)

Class 6 (10/14): Accountability: How Do We Measure Success?

Everyone will read:

 Aviv, A. (July 21, 2014). Wrong Answer: In an era of high-stakes testing, a struggling school made a shocking choice. New Yorker.

 Ravitch, D. (2010). The Trouble With Accountability. The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education. Basic Books. (pp. 149-167). [From required book; Not In Packet]

We will jigsaw the following (you will be assigned a subset of reading & expected to share/discuss in class):

I. Trends in Teacher Evaluation

Hull, J. (2013). Trends in Teacher Evaluation: How states are measuring teacher performance. Center for Public Education.

II. Teacher Evaluations and Value Added Models

Darling-Hammond, L., Amrein-Beardsley, A., Haertel, E., & Rothstein, J. (2012). Evaluating teacher evaluation. Phi Delta Kappan, 93(6), 8-15

Ravitch, D. (Aug 7,15). Bruce Leaderman Explains the Challenge to New York State Teacher Evaluation System. Diane Ravitche’s Blog.

Blume, H. (July 16, 2015). Group sues 13 school districts for not using test scores in teacher evaluations.

Los Angeles Times.

III. “Next Generation” Student Assessments: Common Core, PARCC and Smarter Balanced

Turner, C (8/7/15). New Tests Push Schools to Redefine ‘Good Enough’. NPR: All Things Considered.

Schneider, M. (8/10/15). Even As States Continue to Leave, PARCC Sets Last Year’s Cut Scores. HuffPost.

Sawchuk, S. (4/21/14). Vision, Reality Collide in Common-Core Tests: Political, technical, and financial factors constrain original assessment plans. Education Week.

Taylor, K. and Harris, E. (8/10/2015). New York State Tests Questions Tricky for 3rd Graders, and Maybe Some Adults. New York Times. (Online version has link to actual test items.)

IV: Standardized Tests, Civil Rights, and The Opt Out Movement

Harris, E. (8/12/15). 20% of New York State Students Opted Out of Standardized Tests This Year. NY Times.

Editorial Board (5/16/15). Why opting out is short sighted. The Washington Post.

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (May 5, 2015). Civil Rights Groups: “We Oppose Anti-Testing Efforts”: Participation in Assessments Critical for Expanding Educational Opportunity for All Students.

Rooks, N. (10/11/12). Why It’s Time to Get Rid of Standardized Tests. Time.com.

Tucker, M. (5/28/15). Annual Accountability Testing: Time for Civil Rights Community to Reconsider. Education Week.

Strauss, V. (4/2/2015). Will schools lose federal funds if kids don’t take mandated tests? Fact vs. threat. The Washington Post.

V. Student Assessment: Alternatives to Standardized Testing

Meier, D. (2002). In schools we trust. Boston: Beacon Press. (Chapter 7 Excerpt: The Alternative to Standardization, pp 132 -136).

Stainburn, M. (6/3/2105). Taking Compteny-Based Learning from Policy to Reality. EdWeek.

Khadaroo, S. (8/14/13). Is your student ‘competent’? A new education yard stick takes the measure. Christian Science Monitor.

Schwartz, K. (7/6/15). Beyond Academics: What a Holistic Approach to Learning Could Look Like. KQED.

Neill, M. (5/14/13). Monty Neill: Authentic Assessment as Part of a Testing Reform Campaign. EdWeek.

Class 7 (10/21): Who are our students? Who are our teachers?: Examining Race, Class, and Privilege in Education

**Policy Memo Outline Due(5 copies) to share and workshop with classmates.

Everyone will read:

Delpit, L. (1995). Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York. The New Press (pp. 11-47).

 Rothstein, R. (2014). The Making of Ferguson: Public Polices at the Root of its Troubles. Economic Policy Institute.

We will jigsaw the following (you will be assigned a subset of reading & expected to share/discuss in class):

I. On the Lack of Teacher Diversity

Boser, Ulrich (2014). Teacher Diversity Revisited: A New State-by-State Analysis. Center for American Progress.

Rich, M. (4/22/15). Where Are the Teachers of Color? New York Times.

Anderson, R. (8/6/15). Why Schools Need More Teachers of Color – for White Students. The Atlantic.

II. Economic Inequality

Gudrais, E. (2008). Unequal America: Causes and consequences of the wide -and growing – gap between rich and poor. Harvard Magazine.

Layton, L. (5/28/15). One in five U.S. schoolchildren are living below federal poverty line. The Washington Post.

III. Closing the Gap: Successful Interventions - A

 Tough, P. (11/26/06). What It Takes to Make a Student. New York Times.

IV. Closing the Gap: Successful Interventions - B

 Tough, P. (5/15/14). Who Gets to Graduate? New York Times.

RECOMMENDED (SKIM):

(explore education stats for your state)

Kober, N., Rentner, D., and Jennings, J. (2012 Revised Edition) A Public Education Primer: Basic (and Sometimes Surprising) Facts about the U.S. Education System. Center on Education Policy. On LATTE and online at

Class 8 (10/28): School Assignment: Desegregation, Resegregation, Charters and Choice

**Policy Memo Outline Due to submit.

Ravitch, D. (2010). Choice: The Story of an Idea. The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education. Basic Books. (pp. 113-147) [From required book; Not In Packet]

Eaton, S. (Oct. 2014). Integration Ambassadors: A Grassroots Network of Parents and Educators in Greater Hartford, Connecticut, Keeps Racial and Economic Diversity in Schools and on Agendas. One Nation Indivisible.

Bollinger, Lee (May 16, 2014). Sixty Years Later, We Need a New Brown. New Yorker.

Ravitch, D. (11/11/10). The Myth of Charter Schools. New York Review of Books.

Crupi. (2014). Debunking the Top 6 Myths About Charter Schools. Pioneer Institute.

Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO). (2013). National Charter School Study. credo.stanford.edu

 Mazinger, Z. (Aug. 11, 2013.) Hedge Ur Bets: A Wall Street insider tells the charter school sector ‘you’re not all that’…