Carol Burris, executive director of the Network for Public Education and retired New York State high school principal, reviews Samuel Abrams’ Education and the Commercial Mindset. To sum up, she loved it! It gives an important overview of today’s privatization movement, which attempts to make schools function like businesses.
Carol writes:
Kate Zernike of The New York Times recently wrote a scathing report of what school choice has done to the city of Detroit. The report, which appeared on June 28, tells the story of how an already strained public school system was further beaten down due to the influx of for-profit charter chains eager to grab a share of the market at any cost. Although the promise of choice was to improve all schools through competition, the outcome for Detroit has been a total collapse.
There is no better book to help explain the reasons why such a collapse would occur than Education and the Corporate Mindset, recently published by Harvard University Press. Author Samuel Abrams does a remarkable job tracing choice and market-based school reforms from their early beginnings in the for-profit Edison Schools, to the contemporary choice systems today.
Abrams, a former high school teacher of history and economics and the present Director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, is exactly the right author to help the public understand why market-place reforms are doomed to fail when imposed upon schools. His thoughtful, scholarly arguments are easy to understand. Sam Abrams makes the complicated clear.
The book begins with a history of Chris Whittle’s for-profit Edison Project that sought to impose the rigors of business on what Whittle perceived to be a poorly run and inefficient education system. The beginning chapters take the reader from Edison’s philosophical beginnings, through its marketing and implementation, its transformation from Edison Schools to Edison Learning, and to its eventual demise. Although Edison may be gone, its story is still important. Despite its failure, its influence continues because both ideas and players moved from Edison to the present charter school and online learning world. And of course Edison was the door through which Wall Street first walked to enter the business of school reform.
After telling the Edison story, Abrams pulls from his background in economic theory to explain why market-place reforms like Edison do not work in schools. Because students are both an “input” as well as a customer in the “production function” of schools, the rules of the marketplace are a bad fit. He also argues that good schooling must serve the needs of both the individual and the collective, and to meet the needs of both, shared investments and sacrifices are needed—an ethos not aligned with commercial interests.
Chapter 9 focuses on the emergence of the Charter Management Organization (CMO) as the replacement for the for-profit model. The profit motive may have disappeared (although as Abrams points out, some of the charter leaders receive compensation similar to business CEOs), however, the corporate language, marketing and management styles are very much a part of the CMO model. This is not surprising given that key Edison people—Scott Hamilton, Donald Fisher, John Fisher and Richard Barth moved from Edison to KIPP.
Abrams’ critical analysis of KIPPs’ scores, as well as the advantages that result from a more selective student body and philanthropic support, are well worth the read. In Chapter 10, Abrams frankly discusses the problems that CMOs face–teacher burnout, attrition, student exodus and the exacting code of discipline in the “no excuses” schools that drives both students and teachers out the door.
His most powerful arguments against market-based reforms, however, are left for the end. In Chapters 11 and 12, Abrams contrasts the school reform visions of two Nordic nations —Sweden and Finland. The first followed the course of choice and vouchers. The second followed equity-based public reforms.
In the late 1990s, Abrams explains how Sweden embarked on a course of privatization as the driver of school reform. The country embraced choice, corporate reforms, vouchers and privatization. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush and current Louisiana state education Superintendent John White were, not surprisingly, fans of the Swedish model of reform. Rupert Murdoch and Joel Klein, the former chancellor of New York City schools, visited to see how Swedish schools put self-paced curricula on computer tablets with minimal instruction provided to students by teachers.
Over a decade of Swedish market-based reforms, however, proved to be a flop. In 2011 the model came under fire. Abrams describes scandals and bankruptcies, grade inflation due to school marketing, higher costs, increased segregation, and patterns of clear advantage for the children of savvy parents. The municipal schools were left to educate the neediest children—an unequal system had gotten much worse. The country went into “PISA shock” when Sweden was the only nation in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to see its scores decline every time on that international test since PISA began in 2000.
Finland, in contrast, chose equity reforms and a very different course. The Finns rejected privatization and chose smaller class sizes, higher teacher pay, no curriculum tracking until Grade 10, schools as a community centerpiece, free hot lunch for all students, strong university-based teacher preparation programs, the elimination of “school inspections” and the limiting of testing to “micro-samples” across all areas of curriculum including music and the arts. Finnish students consistently earn top or near top scores on PISA in reading, math and science. They outscore their Nordic neighbors, including Sweden, even though they have demographically similar populations.
When speaking with teachers and parents, I often find them bewildered by the rapid pace of school privatization coded as “school reform”. The allure of “choice” has brought false promise, along with a host of unintended negative consequences for their neighborhood schools. And yet, despite the evidence, the commercial mindset of choice and market practices continues to drive school change. If not stopped, the democratically governed school, anchored in a neighborhood in which parents and community have voice, will be a relic of the past. One only has to look to Sweden or Detroit to see the corruption, problems and failure that will result when the commercial mindset is in charge.
Education and the Commercial Mindset deserves to be at the top of your summer reading list. It connects the dots and sheds much needed light on the origins of corporate reforms. It makes a sound, research-based argument for why the commercial mindset has no place as a driver of change in our schools.
Interesting…I did not know Sweden had big experiment with privatizing schools (late 90’s) and was the only country to have lowered PISA scores – big flop. Jeb Bush, Rupert Murdoch and others enthusiastically bought into the Swedish model.
Charlotte Seewald
Assistant Director, Recruiting
University of Nebraska High School
cseewald@nebraska.edu I402-472-1922
http://highschool.nebraska.edu
Reblogged this on Crazy Normal – the Classroom Exposé and commented:
If not stopped, the democratically governed school, anchored in a neighborhood in which parents and community have voice, will be a relic of the past.
One of the saddest things I have witnessed is the Democrats abandonment of the belief that there are public goods that can’t be privatized.
There was a time when a charter school was an experiment — under the oversight of the board of education — in trying a different kind of school for the students who were struggling in public schools. It was never designed to outsource the education to private operators. But mainstream Democrats now fully embrace the idea that public goods that must serve ALL students can be privatized. It does not matter how much evidence there is about students pushed out. But students being pushed out is NECESSARY in this new market based reform and the charters that don’t do that have far worse scores. Even KIPP — which in NYC stopped suspending unwanted kids and now has a much lower attrition rate — has terrible results on state tests when compared to the top performing charter schools whose attrition rate is at least twice as high.
If you embrace market based reforms, the more expensive to educate kids you can push out of your school, the better your results will be (and the more money you can save to pay your CEO). Period. The Democrats used to understand this fundamental truth. But they pretend it isn’t so because billionaires make it very lucrative for them to do so.
Best line: “…and the more money you can save to pay your CEO.”
Yes, the neoliberal bent of the current Democratic party, started by Bill Clinton and furthered by Barack Obama through the DCCC, the DLC, and other off-the-radar groups that embraced conservative, corporatist values.
That’s why I challenge the party every chance I get. I’ve been a member for nearly 40 years and I remember what it can be when it champions the common man and liberal policies.
We need to drive the neoliberals back into the Republican party from whence they came. It will make them much happier too.
As a New York state teacher, I recall that the union was very opposed to privatization until the late eighties, I remember hear the announcement that the union would be working with charters on a limited basis. I recall getting sickening feeling because I had a instinctive awareness that this was not in the best interest of public schools. In my wildest imagination, I could not have envisioned our current predicament. Privatization has little to do with education today. It is more about corporate welfare, real estate, oligarchs, union busting, destroying middle class jobs and lot to do with unchecked greed and profit.
Here are two interesting (and telling) quotes from the book
Whittle had good reason to believe vouchers would soon become a reality. George H. W. Bush was in the White House. His secretary of education, Whittle’s fellow Tennessean Lamar Alexander, was an ardent advocate of vouchers. And Whittle knew Alexander well. Alexander was both a former stakeholder in Whittle Communications and a member of Channel One’s advisory board.
and
In opening his book New Demands in Education, Munroe wrote: “The fundamental demand in education, as in everything else, is for efficiency—physical efficiency, mental efficiency, moral efficiency.” Munroe continued: “The potential economic worth of each school pupil, to say nothing of his moral value as a householder and as a citizen, is enormous, provided he be so educated, by his family, by his environment, and by his schools, as to become an efficient member of society.”
Lemme echo this last phrase, “to become an efficient member of society.”
The education industry is changing, literally.
In April of this year, the Education Industry Association (EIA), founded in 1990 and shaped into a powerful lobby, became an affiliate of the Education Technology Industry Network.
This merger reflects the increasing power of the tech industry to command investments in education and influence educational policy. Further, the Education Technology Industry Network is just one division of the Software & Information Industry Association. This “architecture” reflects other changes in the edu-business.
Many operators in the charter industry, once the major players in EIA, now have deep pockets, savvy in marketing, and they are organized as a trade group. They have also had generous federal support since 2001.
EIA emerged from the Association of Education Practitioners and Providers (AEPP). The Milton and Rosa Friedman Foundation, champions of “free-market education and everything else was a founding member a supporter of AEPP. AEPP was organized in part to capitalize on the prospect of vouchers or tax-credits that would allow any entrepreneur in education to chase that money.
AEPP morphed into the Education Industry Association as private education companies proliferated (some publicly traded), along with education management firms, charter schools and networks of these. EIA once attracted members from foundations, think tanks, financial and policy analysts, investment brokers, marketing experts, recruiting and accounting firms, in addition to companies offering school supplies for schools; texts, test, and resources for instruction), outsourced services (technology, special education, auditing); test-preparation services, and so on.
These are the names of the 329 companies that members of the new Education Technology Industry Network. Visit the website to learn more, including the member fees and “action” in shaping policies.
123 Math; A P Ventures, LLC; A Pass Educational Group, LLC; A+ Test Prep And Tutoring; ABC-CLIO; Academic Benchmarks; Academic Business Advisors, LLC; Academic Tutoring Center; Accenture; ACE Tutoring, Inc.; Achievement Unlimited; Activate Learning; Adobe Systems, Inc.; AdvancePath Academics, Inc.; Age of Learning, Inc.; Agile Education Marketing; Akro Educational Services (AES); All About Tutoring, LLC; American Education Corporation; American Education Television Network, LLC; American Public University System; Aplia; Apple Education; Apple Inc.; Arc Capital Development; ASD Reading; Assets Learning Center; Athena’s Workshop; Atomic Dog Publishing; ATS Educational Consulting Services; Audioeducator; AWC – Ann Watson Consulting; Back to Basics Learning Dynamics, Inc.; Bailey Routzong Capital Advisors; Becker Professional Education; Blackboard Inc.; Blackboard Inc., K-12; BLPS Group, The; BMO Capital Markets / Business & Education Services; Boardworks; Boyle Public Affairs; BrainPOP; BrainRush; BrainX; Brienza’s Academic Advantage; C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.; C2 Education; C3 Quest, LLC; C8 Sciences; CAC aka College Admissions Counselors; CadmiumCD; Calvert Education Services; Cambium Learning Group; Cambium Learning Technologies; Capit Learning; Capstone; Carney Labs; Carolina Science Online; Carver Learning Systems; Catapult Learning; CatchOn; Cengage Learning; Challenge Island; Charter Schools USA; Cherry Tree & Associates, LLC; Cisco Systems; ClassLink, Inc.; Classroom Connect, Inc.; Classroom2day, LLC; ClassWallet; Clever; Cogent Education; College Board (SpringBoard), The; CollinsConsults; Compass Learning; Condensed Curriculum Int’l., Inc.; ConnectYard, Inc.; Consulting Services for Education; Copia; csMentor, Inc.; CyberSmart Education Company; D2L Inc.; Debakey International; Delmar Cengage Learning; DeSilva & Phillips LLC; Driver Assessment Plus Franchise; E.T.C. International; Edgenuity Inc.; Edmentum; Edsby; EdTechLens Inc.; Education Link Inc.; Education Networks of America (ENA); Education TURNKEY Systems, Inc.; Education Week; Educational Systemics, Inc.; Educators 4 Education; EDUMETRIX INC.; Edustructures; edWeb.net; EIA – Founding Board Member; EIS Education; Elite Educational Institute; Encourage Tomorrow; Enuma; Epiphany Learning; ExamPerformance.com; Excelsoft Technologies, Inc.; EXO U Inc.; Expert System; ExploreLearning.com; Fairmont Private Schools; FANSchool’s fantasygeopolitics.com; Fidelis Education; First Analysis Corporation; Flex Academies; Florida Virtual School – Global Division; Follett School Solutions; FUGU Corp.; Funds for Learning, LLC; Fusion Education Group; Gale, a part of Cengage Learning; GEMS Education- Americas; Globaloria LLC; GoGuardian; Google, Inc.; Gradeable; Great Lakes Educational Group; Great Source Education Group; Greaves Group LLC; GSV Advisors, LLC; Hapara; Harcourt Achieve; Harcourt Assessment, Inc.; Harcourt Education Group; Harcourt School Publishers; Hayes Software Systems; Heinemann-Raintree; Hobsons; Holt, Rinehart and Winston; Home Tutoring Plus Inc; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Huntington Learning Centers, Inc.; iAspire Enterprises LLC dba Hobby Quest East Orlando; iManIT; Impact Education; Individual Dimensions In Learning, Inc.; Inspired School Solutions; Intel Education Group; IntelliTools; International School Consultancy Group, The; ITG America LLC; J Harrison Public Relations; JDL Horizons; JEGI; JLP Education Services; Johns Hopkins University; J-vision, Inc.; K12, Inc.; Kathy Hurley LLC; KC Distance Learning, Inc./Aventa; KCI Enterprises Dba Sylvan Learning; KeBecca Education Services, Inc.; Khan’s Tutorial; Kickboard, Inc.; Knovation; KnowRe; Kool Learning Inc; Kornukopia; Kumon North America; Kurzweil Educational Systems; LaunchGen; Lea(R)n, Inc.; Learning A-Z; Learning Bird, Inc.; Learning Ovations, Inc.; Learning.com; Learningateway; LearningExpress, an EBSCO Company; Learnmetrics; Learnosity; Lesson Planet; LightSide Labs LLC; LinkIt!; Listen Current; LRP Conferences, LLC; Market Data Retrieval (MDR); Marketing Projects, Inc./Big Deal Book; Math Support Services, Inc; Mathspace; Matific; Maverixlab, Inc.; Maximus K12 Education, Inc.; McDougal Littell, Inc.; McGraw-Hill Education; MCH Strategic Data; Media Advisory Partners; MetaMetrics, Inc.; Middlebury Interactive Language; MMS Education; Monarch Teaching Technologies; Monarch Teaching Technologies, Inc; Mosaica Education; Muzzy Lane, Inc.; myOn; National Academic Educational Partners, Inc.; National Geographic Learning; National Heritage Academies; Nepris; New Markets Venture Partners; New Montgomery Street; News-2-You; Next Step Test Preparation; Noodle Companies, The; Noodle.com; NumbersAlive!; Oases Online; O’DONNELL Learn; Ogment LLC; One On One Learning; Open Assessment Technologies Corp; Oracle Academy; Oracle Corporation; Otus, LLC; Pacific Metrics Corporation; Pansophic Learning; Parchman, Vaughan & Company, Llc; Parchment; Parthenon-EY; PASCO Scientific; Pass The Notes; Paula Maylahn Consulting; Pearson; PEEQ; Performance Matters; PrepMagic; Promethean; Propagate, Inc.; PS I Love You Foundation; Publishers Resource Group Inc; Quality Education Data, Inc.; Quality Education LLC; Questia Media; RaaWee K12 Solutions; Readorium by Mtelegence; Readventures; Red Hat, Inc.; RedRock Reports; Remediation Plus Systems; Ripple Effects; Rising Stars Foundation; Riverdeep; Riverside Publishing; SABIS Educational Systems, Inc.; Sagebrush Corporation; Sandhill Consulting Group LLC; Santa Barbara Tutoring; ScaleUp Education Partners; Schnabel Learning; Scholar Partners; Scholastic Education – Curriculum; SchoolNet, a Pearson Company; Schoology, Inc; SEG Measurement; Seven Bridges School; Simba Information; Skoolbo; Slate Science Inc.; SmartBrief Education; SMARTHINKING, a division of NCS Pearson; Smartstart Education; Snowhite Education Solutions Group, LLC; SoftChalk LLC; Software Mackiev; Splash Math; SRI International – Center for Technology in Learning; Stages Publishing, Inc.; Steck-Vaughn Publishing Corporation; Steelcase Education; Student Dox Central; Studentnest.com; Study Island/Plato; Study Smart Tutors Inc; Study Sparkz; Sullivan Learning Systems, Inc.; Sylvan Learning, Inc.; TeacherMatch; Teacher’s Discovery; Team Tutor; TechERA (Technology for Education Reform and Accountability); Test Prep & Tutoring Professionals, Llc; Test Prep Works, LLC; Testing Timers; Testquest, Inc.; Texthelp, Inc.; The Educational Party Zone; The ELI Lab; The Kirkland Group; The Vistria Group; The Wellington Preparatory School; Think Through Learning Inc.; Thomson BROOKSCOLE; Thomson Higher Ed; Thomson Reuters; Thomson South-Western; Thomson Wadsworth; Thought Industries; Tom Snyder Productions; Total Education Solutions, Inc.; Triumph Learning; Tutorial Services; TutorVista.com; uCertify; Victory Productions Inc.; Vidcode; Vizzit LLC; VLP Law Group LLP; VocabNetwork; Voyager Sopris Learning; Waterford Institute; WeAreTeachers; Wells Fargo Securities; West’s Education Group; Wicks Group of Companies, LLC; Wiley; Wimba Inc.; Winter Group; YM Learning; Zyrobotics, LLC.
http://www.siia.net/Press/Education-Technology-Industry-Network-Expands-Welcomes-Education-Industry-Association-Members
“These are the names of the 329 companies that members of the new Education Technology Industry Network.”
Big, scary list. Laura, you are good at scaring us. 🙂