So Much Reform, So Little Change: The Persistence of Failure in Urban Schools.

So Much Reform, So Little Change: The Persistence of Failure in Urban Schools. So Much Reform, So Little Change: The Persistence (1) In a CRT, the time a phosphor dot remains illuminated after being energized. Long-persistence phosphors reduce flicker, but generate ghost-like images that linger on screen for a fraction of a second. of Failure inUrban Schools. Charles Charles, archduke of AustriaCharles,1771–1847, archduke of Austria; brother of Holy Roman Emperor Francis II. Despite his epilepsy, he was the ablest Austrian commander in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars; however, he was handicapped by M. Payne (Harvard Education Press). Payne, a sociologist at the University of Chicago, here sets out toexplain "the sociology of failure" of urban reform. Drawingprimarily on his experiences in Chicago, Payne considers the effects ofsocial context, poverty, race, bureaucracy, and organizational dynamics,and uses them to raise hard questions for both progressive andconservative reformers. Arguing "there is just no doubt that one ofthe central problems in improving urban schools--arguably the centralproblem--is the problem of teacher resistance," he critiques theprogressive expectation that teachers can eventually be coaxed alongthrough evidence on two key counts: first, it presumes that reformersand teachers share the same aims and metrics metricsManaged care A popular term for standards by which the quality of a product, service, or outcome of a particular form of Pt management is evaluated. See TQM. , and second, it presumesthat reformers can marshal An English word that means to arrange into a particular order as a means of preparation. See data marshalling. the evidence to convince the holdouts. Paynedeems both assumptions wrongheaded. He is equally caustic caustic,any strongly corrosive chemical substance, especially one that attacks organic matter. A caustic alkali is a metal hydroxide, especially that of an alkali metal; caustic soda is sodium hydroxide, and caustic potash is potassium hydroxide. when it comesto those who pursue change via accountability, incentives, and choice,faulting their failure to pay sufficient heed to the importance of localculture, social capital, and trust in making change real. Challengingsimple verities of all stripes, Payne has delivered a volume well wortha closer look. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]