Educational reform entails the pursuit of many objectives: updating outdated curricula, improving teacher training and support, addressing funding disparities, integrating technology, and so on. But the bigger challenge is sustaining these initiatives when the going gets tough. Fortunately, there are practical strategies that can help.
The Civil Rights movement catalyzed modern education reform efforts, such as granting all students access to public schools with the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. But these efforts were not just about equity — they were about creating a system that could compete in an increasingly global economy.
As a result, a widespread and unquestioned belief developed that standards-oriented education policies would automatically improve student outcomes. This is why standardized tests have become synonymous with education reform.
Unfortunately, this approach to education reform is not working for the majority of students. It may work for the elite few who are able to learn in traditional settings and through conventional requirements, but it does not provide a learning experience that is tailored to each student’s needs.
The answer lies in a shift from a focus on the curriculum to one that focuses on learners. This means that instead of relying on standardized assessments to measure academic achievement, educational systems should use diagnostic assessments to provide individual learning pathways for each student. This is how high-performing education systems are tackling this challenge. This also requires that all schools and districts stop accepting overcrowding as a fact of life and commit to drafting master plans that do not tolerate even slight overcrowding.