Chapter 1: Policy and Practice: The Relations Between Governance and Instruction

Ours is a time of remarkable ferment in U.S. education. The recent school reform movement initially focused on the "basics, " but then took off in a dramatically new direction in the late 1980s. Reformers started to demand more thoughtful and intellectually ambitious instruction. Lead-ers in politics and business argued that students must become independent thinkers and enterprising problem solvers. Educators began to say that schools must offer intellectually challenging instruction that is deeply rooted in the academic disciplines. These ideas are a dramatic change. For most of this century, politicians and businessmen ignored public education or supported only minimum programs for most students. And most leaders in education long have been inclined to the view that most students need basic and practical education rather than more high-flown and demanding stuff. These ten-dencies were entirely representative. Though the American people have been enthusiasts for schooling, few have been keen on intellectually am-bitious education. More unusual still, recent reformers have proposed fundamental changes in politics and policy to achieve the new goals. They argue for the creation of state or national curricula, to push instruction to new heights. Or they advocate state or national tests or examination systems, to pull instruction in the same direction. Or they propose to link exam-inations and curricula so as to gain even more leverage on teaching and learning. Prominent politicians, businesspeople, and professors have en-