Reacting to crises: The risk-averse nature of contemporary American public education

Abstract

Over the past several decades, numerous arguments have been made advancing the notion that the failings of the public education system in the United States have placed the nation's national security or economic prosperity at risk. This article will examine some of these ''crises'' and explore how arguments claiming that the shortcomings of the educational system have placed the country at risk have been manipulated and revised to suit the temporal circumstances of the time. The article will also examine how federal education policy has been crafted to address risk and will argue that the most recent policy initiatives have created a risk-averse climate in public education. In particular, the implementation of policy measures has been characterized by a campaign to mitigate risk and bring uniformity and predictability to public education. In doing so, policymakers have arguably undermined some of the qualities that have made public education in the United States unique and exceptional.