Book Presentation

In The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Ravitch explains why broadly popular ideas for restructuring schools have had no positive impact on the quality of American education. She reconsiders the evolution of her own views on key issues and reveals her skepticism regarding charter schools, privatization, accountability, and the philanthropists who are trying to control school reform using business models for school planning.

Drawing on over 40 years of research and observation on education, Ravitch also offers prescriptions for improving our schools.

Diane Ravitch is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a Research Professor of Education at New York University. She served as Assistant Secretary of Education during the George H.W. Bush administration. During the Clinton administration, she served on the National Assessment Governing Board. Ravitch is also the author or editor of more than 20 books on education.

This is a summary and not a critique or a review of the book. It does not offer judgment or opinion on the content of the book.  This summary may not be organized chapter-wise but is an overview of the main ideas, viewpoints and arguments from the book as a whole. This means that the organization of this summary is not a representation of the book.