Three basic differences separate businesses from schools: the multiple purposes of tax-supported public schools; public responsibility for achieving these purposes; and democratic deliberations in deciding policies and determining school success. The profound differences in purposes, democratic decision making and accountability for outcomes between businesses and schools mean the basic assumption of corporate-inspired reformers — that schools and businesses are fundamentally alike – is deeply flawed.
This is why it is crucial that U.S. policymakers, practitioners, researchers, parents and taxpayers know clearly in what respects schools and businesses are alike and in what ways they differ. Business-inspired reform will not go away, writes Larry Cuban in The School Administrator. When business-minded policy proposals arise again — and they will — their assumptions, logic and evidence have to be dissected carefully and arrayed against the many purposes that tax-supported public schools serve.
Read the full report from the American Association of School Administrators.