Diane Ravitch explains why she changed her mind about reform

If you weren’t at the GothamSchools party last week, then you missed a real treat: Diane Ravitch reading publicly for the first time from her forthcoming book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education.”

Reading from a selection titled “What I Learned About School Reform,” Ravitch explained why she has reversed her position on policies from test-based accountability to school choice.

“Where once I had been hopeful, even enthusiastic, about the potential benefits of testing, accountability, choice, and markets, I now found myself experiencing profound doubts about the same ideas,” Ravitch said.

“What was the compelling evidence that prompted me to reevalute the policies I had endorsed many times over the previous decade? Why did I now doubt ideas I had once advocated?” she asked. “The short answer is that my views changed because I saw how these ideas were working in reality.”

For the long answer, watch the video of Ravitch’s reading (and pre-order her book).

Ravitch read from her book to support GothamSchools. Here’s how you can support us, too.