Seth Sandronsky is a Sacramento-based writer whose work has appeared in many journals. Here he reviews “Reign of Error.”

He writes:

“With verve, she demystifies the corporate reform language, with its heavy reliance upon shibboleths about test scores (domestic and global), achievement gaps, high school and college graduation rates. Ravitch deconstructs the reformers’ education solutions such as merit pay, teacher seniority and tenure; charter and cyber schools that can bewilder and confuse.

“The K-12 public school reform trend in the US has of course gained steam since the 1970s, the end of a postwar economic model. What many see began with President Ronald Reagan, the upper class attack on labor unions, New Deal and Great Society policies, paved the path for the incremental assault on public education.

“Today we see corporate-funded advocacy groups such as the American Legislative Exchange Council leading the charge in statehouses across the U.S. They are where the education money is for local school districts, Ravitch writes. Federally, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and Race to the Top Fund (part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009), call the policy shots.

“My minor quibble with Ravitch is in exposing think tanks such as The Heartland Institute, whose website proclaims its work supports “free-market solutions to social and economic problems” is knee-deep in lobbying states to privatize K-12 public schools. Such a strategy is less “free-market” than the politics of government intervention, hardly the work of competitive entrepreneurs.

“Ravitch’s solutions to what ails K-12 public schools are straightforward. She supports redistributive policies to benefit the poor and working classes.

“What is not to like? Ravitch’s Reign of Error is a must-read for Americans in and out of public schools.”