This is in response to NY Times article “4,100 Students Prove ‘Small is Better’ Rule Wrong” (Sam Dillon, 9/27/2010). I have decided not to make this blog about bashing the media for misrepresenting/overstating educational issues or research. That said, while I know that in journalism exceptions are more interesting than the rule, I think it slightly disingenuous to use 1 (or 14 as is really the case in the article) to suggest that proponents of smaller schools are wrong.
The article references a study conducted by Ronald F. Ferguson,“How High Schools Become Exemplary.” I think that the most important point mentioned in the article (from Ferguson’s study) is that in each of the exemplary schools studied, “Achievement rose when leadership teams focused thoughtfully and relentlessly on improving the quality of instruction.” To me, this seems the essence of any ed reform, and the particular circumstances of a school will mold the solutions that will bring it to excellence.
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