Reflection # 8

Reflection Paper#8:: Briefly describe the three waves of educational reform outlined in the text. In your opinion, why has one of these waves been so dominant?

In the history of education their has been three major waves of reform. 

The first wave of reform came shortly after a report from the national commission on excellence in education, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. A Nation at Risk listed the declining test scores, compared the aptitude of U.S students to students of other industrialized nations and mentioned the alarming number of functionally illiterate adults. The report demanded stricter academics, raising the bar for students, paying teachers better and hiring more qualified teachers. As a result, the report inspired; the creation of hundreds of local and state panels, more than forty states increased graduation requirements, thirty-three states implemented testing for student promotion, fifty percent of the united states passed legislation to increase teacher qualifications and raise their pay, most states made school days and years longer and states passed laws that required teachers to demonstrate computer literacy. The motivation of the first wave of school reform was to ensure national defense and economic competition, the goal was to raise educational quality and hire better teachers under state control.


The second wave of reform began in the 1980s and was stimulated by educators. They stressed the need for the reform of school procedures. Teachers like Theodore Sizer, John Goodlad, and Ernest Boyer were distraught with the loss of teacher autonomy and the weak student performances. The teachers suggested many ideas for reform like; reducing bureaucracy, demanding better trained and better paid teachers, adding local decision making, strengthening the role of principal and studying subjects in more detail. The goal of the second wave of reform was to give teachers more power and to alter the curriculum in a way that would prove most successful for the students.


The third wave of reform began in 1988 in an attempt to assist struggling families that may not have the time to support and reinforce the importance of education. The third wave calls for full service schools that provide a network of social assistance, nutrition, health care, transportation, counseling and parent education. The goal the third reform is to do more than just teach the children, to begin to helping the students with all of their needs.


I believe the first wave of reform was the and is the most dominant. Education standards have risen but they still are far from where they need to be. We are still considered an academically weak nation in comparison to other industrialized nations.The mission of the first reform wave is far from being completed and that is what keeps it in focus.