Abstract
This chapter focuses on the ways state education policies and funding undermined educational opportunity in Michigan. In 2005, the State of Michigan raised science and math requirements for the graduating class of 2011, but it cut K-12 funding when schools were implementing higher cost science and math courses. The new curriculum had been recommended by the Governor’s Commission on Education, but the report overlooked the role of school funding. The state implemented higher requirements along with reductions in schools’ funding, adding to the high-risk contexts for the implementation of newly required graduation requirements in Detroit, where the population declined and charters were expanded.
Leanne Kang, Karen Moronski-Chapman, and Amy Fisher provided assistance with analyses used in this chapter’s tables.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Austin, C. (2013, October 4). Discussion regarding policy background on school finance issues. Available at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/Item_C_Discussion_Regarding_Policy_Background_on_School_Finance_Issues_436352_7.pdf.
Berkner, L., & Chavez, L. (1997). Access to postsecondary education for the 1992 high school graduates. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.
Birman, B., LeFloch, K. C., Klekotka, A., Ludwig, M., Taylor, J., Walters, K., et al. (2007). State and local implementation of the no child left behind act volume II—Teacher quality under NCLB: Interim report. Report to the Rand Corporation. Available at http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/reprints/2007/RAND_RP1283.pdf.
Bloom, H. S., Thompson, S. L., & Unterman, R. (2010). Transforming the high school experience: How New York city’s new small schools are boosting student achievement and graduation rates. New York: MDRC. Available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1786966.
Cherry Commission. (2004). Final report of the Lt. Governor’s Commission on Higher Education & Economic Growth. Prepared for Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. Lansing, MI. Available at http://www.cherrycommission.org/docs/finalReport/CherryReportFULL.pdf.
Daun-Barnett, N. (2008). Preparation and access: A multi-level analysis of state policy influences on the academic antecedents to college enrollment (PhD dissertation). University of Michigan.
Daun-Barnett, N., & St. John, E. P. (2012). Constrained curriculum in high schools: The changing math standards and student achievement, high school graduation and college continuation. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 20, 5. Available at http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/907.
Davis, C.-S., St. John, E., Koch, D., Meadow, G., & Scott, D. (2010). Making academic progress: The University of Michigan STEM Academy. Prepared for WEPAN/NAMEPA, Baltimore, MD.
Finn, C. E., Jr. (1990a). The biggest reform of all. Phi-Delta-Kappan, 71(8), 584–592.
Finn, C. E., Jr. (1990b). Why we need choice. In W. L. Boyd & H. J. Walberg (Eds.), Choice in education: Potential and problems (pp. 3–20). Berkeley, CA: McCutchan Publishing Corporation.
Harvey, D. (2005). A brief history of neoliberalism. New York: Oxford University Press.
Johnson, R. C. (1996, July 10). Terrel bell, known for defending federal role in education, dies. Education Week, Downloaded August 2, 2018. Available at https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1996/07/10/40bell.h15.html.
Levidow, L. (2005). Neoliberal agendas for higher education. In A. Saad-Filho & D. Johnston (Eds.), Neoliberalism: A critical reader (pp. 156–163). Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press.
Mason, D. A., & Arsen, D (2014). Michigan’s Education Achievement Authority and the Future of Public Education in Detroit: The challenge of aligning policy design and policy goals (Working Paper 43). Education Policy Center, Michigan State University. Available at https://education.msu.edu/epc/library/papers/documents/WP43MichigansEducationAchievementAuthority.pdf.
Michigan Department of Education (MDE). (2006). Michigan merit curriculum: High school graduation requirements. Available at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/New_MMC_one_pager_11.15.06_183755_7.pdf.
Ponnuru, R. (2016, November 28). DeVos and Detroit’s charter schools, National Review. Available at https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/devos-and-detroits-charter-schools/.
Ravitch, D. (2010). The death and life of the great American school system: How testing and choices are undermining education. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Ravitch, D. (2013). Reign of error: The Hoax of the privatization movement and the danger to America’s public schools. New York: Vintage Books.
Reese, W. J. (2005). America’s public schools: From the common school to no child left behind. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
St. John, E. P. (1994). Prices, productivity and investment: Assessing financial strategies in higher education (ASHE/ERIC Higher Education Report No. 3). Washington, DC: George Washington University, School of Education and Human Development.
St. John, E. P. (2006). Education and the public interest: School reform, public finance, and access to college. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
St. John, E. P. (2013). Research, actionable knowledge and social change: Reclaiming social responsibility through research in partnerships with practitioners (2nd ed.). Sterling, VA: Stylus.
St. John, E. P., & Asker, E. H. (2003/2014). Refinancing the college dream: Access, equal opportunity, and justice for taxpayers. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press (Paperback edition, 2014).
St. John, E. P., & Chung, C. G. (2003). Merit and equity: Rethinking award criteria in the Michigan scholarship program. In E. P. St. John & M. D. Parsons (Eds.), Public funding of higher education: Changing contexts and new rationales (pp. 124–140). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
St. John, E. P., & Chung, C. G. (2004). Merit and equity: Rethinking award criteria in the Michigan scholarship program. In E. P. St. John & M. D. Parsons (Eds.), Public funding of higher education: Changing contexts and new rationales (pp. 124–140). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
St. John, E. P., & Daun-Barnett, N. J. (2008). Public opinions and political contexts. In T. J. Kowalski (Ed.), Public relations in schools (4th ed., pp. 50–72). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill and Prentice Hall.
St. John, E. P., Daun-Barnett, N., & Moronski-Chapman, K. M. (2013). Public policy and higher education: Reframing strategies for preparation, access, and success. New York: Routledge.
St. John, E. P., Daun-Barnett, N., & Moronski-Chapman, K. M. (2018). Public policy and higher education: Reframing strategies for preparation, access, and success (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
St. John, E. P., Hossler, C. A, Musoba, G. D., Chung, C. G., & Simmons, A. B. (2006). Comprehensive school reform in Michigan: Intervention designs, teacher practices, and classroom outcomes. In E. P. St. John (Ed.), Public policy and educational opportunity: School reforms, postsecondary encouragement, and state policies on postsecondary education (Vol. 21, pp. 359–409). Readings on Equal Education. New York, NY: AMS Press.
St. John, E. P., & Musoba, G. D. (2010). Pathways to academic success: Expanding opportunity for underrepresented students. New York: Routledge (Paperback Edition, 2012).
Toch, T. (2003). High schools on a human scale: How small schools can transform American education. Boston: Beacon Press.
U.S. Department of Education, National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
St. John, E.P., Girmay, F. (2019). Educational Policy. In: Detroit School Reform in Comparative Contexts. Neighborhoods, Communities, and Urban Marginality. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19011-8_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19011-8_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-19010-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-19011-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)