The basic purpose of this book is to help policy makers at all levels of government understand that (1) widespread adolescent underachievement is not susceptible to solution by educational interventions no matter how much money is allocated to public education; and (2) there are unidentified educational and civic costs to focusing on low achievement and to expecting public institutions of education (for K-12 and college) to solve a growing social problem. Many policy makers seem to think that teachers/schools are the primary cause of low achievement. Educational institutions still cannot solve a non-education-caused problem and haven't done so for over fifty years despite all the public and private money that has been allocated. The book concludes with suggested policies for addressing the damage to public education from "gap-closing" standards and with suggested areas for policy making in order to change the current course of failure for many low-achieving students.

The basic purpose of this book is to help policy makers at all levels of government understand that (1) widespread adolescent underachievement is not susceptible to solution by educational interventions no matter how much money is allocated to public education; and (2) there are unidentified educational and civic costs to focusing on low achievement and to expecting public institutions of education (for K-12 and college) to solve a growing social problem. Many policy makers seem to think that teachers/schools are the primary cause of low achievement. Educational institutions still cannot solve a non-education-caused problem and haven't done so for over fifty years despite all the public and private money that has been allocated. The book concludes with suggested policies for addressing the damage to public education from "gap-closing" standards and with suggested areas for policy making in order to change the current course of failure for many low-achieving students.

Teachers cannot teach what they do not know. This country has tolerated a weak licensing system for prospective teachers for decades. This weak system has been accompanied by an increasingly emptier curriculum for most students, depriving them of the knowledge and skills needed for self-government. An Empty Curriculum: How Teacher Licensure Tests Lead to Empty Student Minds makes the case that the complete revision of the licensing system for prospective and veteran teachers in Massachusetts in 2000 and the construction of new or more demanding teacher licensing tests contributed significantly to the Massachusetts "education miracle." That "miracle" consisted of enduring gains in achievement for students in all demographic groups and in all regional vocational/technical high schools since 2005-gains confirmed by tests independent of Massachusetts policy makers. The immediate purpose of this book is to explain what Massachusetts did in 2000 to strengthen its teacher licensing and re-licensing system to ensure that all teachers could teach to relatively strong K-12 standards. Its larger purpose is to suggest that development of strong academic standards in all major subjects should be followed by complete revision of a state's teacher licensing system, not, as has been the case for several decades, the development of K-12 student tests-if this country wants to strengthen public education.

Teachers cannot teach what they do not know. This country has tolerated a weak licensing system for prospective teachers for decades. This weak system has been accompanied by an increasingly emptier curriculum for most students, depriving them of the knowledge and skills needed for self-government. An Empty Curriculum: How Teacher Licensure Tests Lead to Empty Student Minds makes the case that the complete revision of the licensing system for prospective and veteran teachers in Massachusetts in 2000 and the construction of new or more demanding teacher licensing tests contributed significantly to the Massachusetts "education miracle." That "miracle" consisted of enduring gains in achievement for students in all demographic groups and in all regional vocational/technical high schools since 2005-gains confirmed by tests independent of Massachusetts policy makers. The immediate purpose of this book is to explain what Massachusetts did in 2000 to strengthen its teacher licensing and re-licensing system to ensure that all teachers could teach to relatively strong K-12 standards. Its larger purpose is to suggest that development of strong academic standards in all major subjects should be followed by complete revision of a state's teacher licensing system, not, as has been the case for several decades, the development of K-12 student tests-if this country wants to strengthen public education.

This book is addressed to teachers who know that the secondary literature curriculum in our public schools is in shambles. Unless experienced and well-read English teachers can develop coherent and increasingly demanding literature curricula in their schools, average high school students will remain at about the fifth or sixth grade reading level--where they now are to judge from several independent sources. This book seeks to challenge education policy makers, test developers, and educators who discourage the assignment of appropriately difficult works to high school students and make construction of a coherent literature curriculum impossible. It first traces the history of the literature curriculum in our middle schools and high schools and shows how it has been diminished and distorted in the past half-century. It then offers examples of coherent literature curricula and spells out the cognitive principles upon which coherence is based. Finally, it suggests what English teachers in our public schools could do to develop a literature curriculum that gives all their students an adequate basis for participation in an English-speaking civic culture.

This book is addressed to teachers who know that the secondary literature curriculum in our public schools is in shambles. Unless experienced and well-read English teachers can develop coherent and increasingly demanding literature curricula in their schools, average high school students will remain at about the fifth or sixth grade reading level-where they now are to judge from several independent sources. This book seeks to challenge education policy makers, test developers, and educators who discourage the assignment of appropriately difficult works to high school students and make construction of a coherent literature curriculum impossible. It first traces the history of the literature curriculum in our middle schools and high schools and shows how it has been diminished and distorted in the past half-century. It then offers examples of coherent literature curricula and spells out the cognitive principles upon which coherence is based. Finally, it suggests what English teachers in our public schools could do to develop a literature curriculum that gives all their students an adequate basis for participation in an English-speaking civic culture.

The chief purpose of this book is to explain how public education in this country became dysfunctional as a result of the education policies and programs funded by the federal government to address low academic achievement. It highlights student effort as a central factor in academic achievement, based on research noting its significance. Teachers and school administrators cannot make children ready for college or career by grade 12 if their parents do not make them ready for school learning by kindergarten or grade 1. Once both the schools and students' parents together made students ready for membership in our civic culture. They learned they were politically equal to each other, with a shared civic identity, regardless of academic achievement. Yet, policy makers at USED and philanthropists in this country with a professed interest in the education of low achievers want low achievers to believe that their academic status is all that matters and that they haven't succeeded academically because of bigoted teachers, administrators, and communities. Parent/school partnerships need to revive their community's agreed-upon mission for public education if we are to alter the roots of low achievement in this country.

The chief purpose of this book is to explain how public education in this country became dysfunctional as a result of the education policies and programs funded by the federal government to address low academic achievement. It highlights student effort as a central factor in academic achievement, based on research noting its significance. Teachers and school administrators cannot make children ready for college or career by grade 12 if their parents do not make them ready for school learning by kindergarten or grade 1. Once both the schools and students' parents together made students ready for membership in our civic culture. They learned they were politically equal to each other, with a shared civic identity, regardless of academic achievement. Yet, policy makers at USED and philanthropists in this country with a professed interest in the education of low achievers want low achievers to believe that their academic status is all that matters and that they haven't succeeded academically because of bigoted teachers, administrators, and communities. Parent/school partnerships need to revive their community's agreed-upon mission for public education if we are to alter the roots of low achievement in this country.