Article 2: Ravitch Reversed: Ideology and the History of American Education Reform

Diane Ravitch’s The Death and Life of the Great American School System (2010) and Reign of Error (2013) represent a significant shift in the contemporary political dialogue on education reform. The once staunch supporter of national academic standards and market-based reforms, Ravitch reversed nearly every position she supported through her past scholarship and policy work. Once largely vilified by the Left, she has now become one of its go-to voices of dissent. The National Education Association (NEA) awarded Ravitch its “Friend of Education” award during its 2010 annual convention. Jonathan Kozol, a longtime critic of Ravitch, applauded Ravitch’s Reign of Error in the New York Times calling it a “cri de coeur—a fearless book, a manifesto and a call to battle” (Kozol 2014). From scores of keynote addresses to interviews on the Jon Stewart Show and Bill Moyers and Company, Ravitch has received attention essentially unknown to historians of education after her abrupt volte-face.