Weekend Reading: American Education 2030

The Hoover Institution’s Koret Task Force on K-12 Education has released a new e-book, American Education 2030, that looks at what education will look like in 20 years. The book includes 15 chapters written by task force members, many of whom are also Education Next editors, bloggers, and contributors.

As noted in the press release for the book:

The opening essay by Paul Peterson explains the dire fate that awaits American education if current trends continue unchanged.

Grover Whitehurst describes the instructional revolution that he foresees, emphasizing the impact of technology on curriculum and learning.

Dan Willingham shows how some of the heavy burden now placed on teachers will be eased, freeing them to become far more effective and focused on instruction.

Caroline Hoxby shows how teacher compensation­ and effectiveness­ will be transformed; outlines fundamental changes in how America will pay for public education; and, ultimately, how the payment schemes affect academic performance.

John Chubb dramatizes the powerful impact of technology on inner-city schools and their pupils.

Tom Loveless examines the crucial role of the time that youngsters spend learning and how this will change­ both in school and at home.

Bill Evers shows why today’s push for national education standards will be replaced by an array of high-quality academic standards.

Eric Hanushek shows how changes in assessment, and the data resulting from them, will be productively applied to boosting student performance.

Martin West examines the changing roles of the federal government, states, and school districts amid ongoing centralization of funding for public education.

Paul Hill describes how local school systems will be transformed from staid bureaucracies into high-performance organizations.

Terry Moe describes the new politics of American education as technology permeates the system and school choice becomes ubiquitous.

In her second essay, Hoxby states that schools will be financed by a portable, per-child budget funded through payroll and sales taxes. Bad schools will be driven out of the market as students leave to go to better schools.

Herb Walberg shows­ and applauds ­the transformative effects of privatization and vouchers on the education system.

Finally, Chester Finn describes the expansion of school choice, shows how obstacles to still greater expansion can be overcome, and illustrates the extent of education change that can occur in twenty years.

The entire book can be downloaded as a PDF here.

Videos to go with the chapters are here.

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