The Brian Lehrer Show A 'School Choice' Advocate's 180 on Testing and Charter Schools
Dec 3, 2025
Diane Ravitch, an education historian and former NYU professor, shares her remarkable turnaround on school choice and testing in her latest conversation. She recounts her childhood in segregated schools, revealing how it shaped her views on equity. Ravitch critically examines charter school failures and the pitfalls of standardized testing, arguing they perpetuate inequality. She highlights the need for community schools and better support for disadvantaged students, advocating for systemic changes to enhance public education.
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Formative Segregated Schooling
- Diane Ravitch describes attending segregated public schools in Houston and asking why they weren't integrating after Brown v. Board of Education.
- Her childhood experience of rampant racism shaped her lifelong commitment to defending civil rights and public schools.
Learning Skepticism At The New Leader
- Ravitch recounts working at the socialist magazine The New Leader and learning democratic debate rather than propaganda.
- That experience taught her lifelong skepticism toward panaceas and single-solution claims.
Choice Looked Promising In Theory
- Ravitch originally embraced school choice because it was largely theoretical and promised competition would spur improvement.
- She later realized the evidence didn't support those expectations as charters failed to deliver systemic gains.
