Understanding the challenges to urban education reform: New Jersey as a case study
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2008
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Haverford College. Department of Political Science
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Thesis
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Award
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eng
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Haverford users only
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Abstract
This thesis is an attempt to deconstruct the underlying reasons for why educational reform in urban areas has been unsuccessful in providing quality education, stimulating higher academic achievement and mitigating poor school conditions. This paper approaches the topic as a multi-dimensional and complex debate, in which the nuances, complexities, tensions and ideological contradictions that surround the issue, must be analyzed, understood and eventually dismantled. Educational reform in urban areas is intertwined with issues of race and class, and political influence and power. This analysis attempts to put such issues in a historical and social context in order to shed light on why it often invokes heated conflict, as well as the obstacles that have impeded substantive change and how to confront them. For this purpose, I have chosen to focus on the history of education reform in New Jersey, where over the past 30 years it has been debated in the state Supreme Court. The landmark case, Abbott v. Burke, established that school funding reliant on property taxes discriminated against urban students and ruled that inner-city conditions warranted aid that exceeded that of suburban districts. Decisions have faced intense political backlash, and are now facing termination as the New Jersey Governor, Jon Corzine, has proposed a new funding formula that rescinds the current system sensitive to urban specific disadvantages. The first chapter addresses the nature of the problem, in that urban schools have consistently been unable to compete with their rural and suburban counterparts, and that national studies have shown that poverty alone cannot account for the performance gap. The chapter discusses the making of the modem American city, the importance of location in the unequal public education systems and how ideologies have played an important role that demands consideration, in reform policies. Chapter two analyzes how schools are funded; it is determined that since the majority of funding is from districts' property tax revenue, state aid often has failed to offset the disparities that exist between communities. It discusses the wave of finance reform litigation that began in the 1970's and its success in narrowing the funding gap and shifting the focus to providing urban areas with equity plus, meaning funding parity with successful, suburban districts, in addition to supplementary funding to alleviate disadvantages. This chapter concludes by introducing the cases in New Jersey and their significance. The third chapter looks at the evolution of New Jersey's demographic and economic profile, and how it is analogous to the nation's. It also analyzes the direct link between the decay of New Jersey's cities and the characteristics of school enrollment, the conditions of schools and the achievement of students. Chapter four explains the Abbott reforms, what they were designed to address and their goals. It analyzes the breakdown of implementation, as a result of unintended consequences, costs and risks and political feasibility. The chapter evaluates the progress of the reforms not only in terms of finance and standardized test scores, but also in terms of social significance. The fifth chapter explains the new funding formula and its goals and provisions. It analyzes projected outcomes and possible pitfalls, as well as the social implications. The chapter also attempts to deconstruct the public's flawed perceptions that incited opposition against the Abbott districts and illustrate how they are mirrored in the national trends that have hindered progressive policies that could create significant and structural change. The conclusion calls on the public and politicians to recognize the contradictions between American ideologies of equal access and the belief in the capitalist market and how they have prevented the government from creating policies that would significantly alter the structure of public school systems in urban areas. It also challenges policymakers to address the social and historical context of America's inner cities and asserts change both nationally and in New Jersey can only be achieved when the reality of urban areas are understood and flawed perceptions about the urban 'underclass' are dismantled.