Diane Ravitch's Blog

My website is dianeravitch.com. I specialize in the history of education and serve as a Research Professor of Education at New York University. Originally from Houston, Texas, I attended public schools in Houston from kindergarten through high school and graduated from Wellesley College in 1960. I earned my Ph.D. in the history of American education in 1975. I have two sons who were educated in private schools in New York City. I am also a proud grandmother to four grandsons: two of them attended religious schools, one is currently in a public school in New York City, and the youngest is set to join that same wonderful public school in Brooklyn.

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Teachers! New York City Is Hiring to Reduce Class Sizes!

1 week ago | dianeravitch.net | Diane Ravitch

Thanks to the tireless work of Leonie Haimson, Class Size Matters, and her hardy band of parent advocates, New York City is reducing class sizes to meet the requirements of state law. After 25 years of failed “reforms” like high-stakes testing, competition, merit pay, and choice, the city is finally embarked on a reform that has a solid research base and actually helps students. Teachers can devote more time to each students. Discipline problems will be less.
Thomas Edsall: What Scholars Say About Trump’s Reign of Error and Chaos

1 week ago | dianeravitch.net | Diane Ravitch

Thomas Edsall writes a regular feature for The New York Times. In this stunning article, he recounts the views of numerous scholars about what Trump has done since his Inauguration. This is a gift article, meaning you can open the link and finish reading the article, which is usually behind a paywall. Edsall writes:One thing stands out amid all the chaos, corruption and disorder: the wanton destructiveness of the Trump presidency.
Heather Cox Richardson: Courts Are Our Guardrail-For Now

1 week ago | dianeravitch.net | Diane Ravitch

Heather Cox Richardson is a national treasure. she is also an exemplar of the value of studying history as a guide to today’s events and their meaning. She writes:Political scientist Adam Bonica noted last Friday that Trump and the administration suffered a 96% loss rate in federal courts in the month of May. Those losses were nonpartisan: 72.2% of Republican-appointed judges and 80.4% of Democratic-appointed judges ruled against the administration. The administration sustained more losses today.
Maurice Cunningham: DFER Moves into MAGA Orbit

1 week ago | dianeravitch.net | Diane Ravitch

Maurice Cunningham, a retired professor of political science at the university of Massachusetts and a specialist on dark money in education, exposes the rightward shift of Democrats for Education Reform, as well as its continuing disintegration. DFER spent years cheerleading for charter schools and test-based teacher evaluation, but its pretense has dissolved. Cunningham said it is now closely aligned with rightwing groups.
U.S. Navy Restores Almost All of the DEI Banned Books

1 week ago | dianeravitch.net | Diane Ravitch

The U.S. Navy and the other branches of the military were told by order of Trump and Hegseth to remove all books on the subjects of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In practice, this meant elimination of books about race, racism, and sexual orientation.
Trump Threatens to Transfer Harvard’s Billions for Scientific Research to Trade Schools, Demands Names of Foreign Students

1 week ago | dianeravitch.net | Diane Ravitch

Trump is a petty man who is filled with rage, grievance, and a passion for retribution. His current target is Harvard University because the nation’s most prestigious university told him no. Harvard’s President Alan Garber said it would not allow the federal government to control its curriculum, its admissions, and its hiring policies. No. Every Cabinet department has pulled research grants to Harvard.
Judge Tosses Lawsuit Against Reading Reseacher Lucy Calkins, Other Reading Researchets

1 week ago | dianeravitch.net | Diane Ravitch

For many years, “Balanced Literacy ” was considered the gold standard of reading instruction; it encouraged students to use context clues, Then came the fervor for the “Science of Reading,” which emphasized phonics. The reading wars dominated the education world for nearly two decades. Reading instruction across the nation changed to reflect the pro-phonics emphasis. But then a group of parents went to court to close down the teaching of Balanced Literacy, and they sued Dr. Calkins.
Trump’s Kennedy Center Agenda Features Drag Artists

1 week ago | dianeravitch.net | Diane Ravitch

The Daily Beast wrote with amusement that the Trump-branded Kennedy Center in D.C. has listed its coming attractions, and several of them feature drag performers. This, despite Trump denouncing the previous management for permitting anything that included drag actors. Some shows that were originally scheduled cancel to protest the Trump takeover, including “Hamilton” and the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.
DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! The “Beautiful” Tax Bill Guts the Rule of Law!

1 week ago | dianeravitch.net | Diane Ravitch

That “One Big Beautiful Bill” is supposed to be about the budget and taxes but tucked into it are a variety of dangerous items that Trump partisans hope will go unnoticed. The most dangerous item of all undercuts the rule of law. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinziger noticed it. They posted this warning on Twitter: Our blog contributor called Quickwrit noticed the innocuous but dangerous insertion into the bill.
Trump Posted Unhinged Ravings for Memorial Day

1 week ago | dianeravitch.net | Diane Ravitch

It is Trump’s style to insult anyone who disagrees with him. Ever. He can never speak of “the honorable opposition” or his esteemed colleague with whom he disagrees. No, anyone who disagrees is a radical Marxist or a stupid fool or whatever epithet comes to mind. Here is his Memorial Day greeting to his fellow Americans and to those men and women who gave their lives to protect our country and its ideals: Categories Trump, Tyranny