Conor Ryan, Centre for Policy Studies
2002
Written by Conor Ryan, a freelance writer who previously served as special adviser to David Blunkett, England's minister of education in the Blair government, this 32-page mini-book argues that all the education reforms of the past 15 years, consequential as they've been, leave some very important steps untaken. In particular, "A quarter of 11 year olds still cannot read properly. It takes two and a half years to sack a bad teacher. And there are too many bad schools." To solve these problems, he recommends "radical solutions." These include wider use of "synthetic phonics"; big changes in teacher training; an overhaul of vocational training; more use of "value-added" data to spot schools that are "coasting"; the expansion of good schools and the faster closing of bad ones; and more outsourcing of troubled schools to private operators (with freedom to replace staff). Much of this is familiar stuff but it's interesting to see these issues examined through British lenses. You can download a copy (in PDF format) at http://www.cps.org.uk/conor.pdf.
