Compulsory public education in the United States

The movement for compulsory public education in the United States began in the early 1920s. It started with the Smith-Towner bill, a bill that would eventually establish the National Education Association and provide federal funds to public schools. Eventually, it became the movement to mandate public schooling and dissolve parochial and other private schools.^[1] The movement focused on the public's fear of immigrants and the need to Americanize; it had anti-Catholic overtones and found support from groups like the Ku Klux Klan.^[2]

The movement gained some legislative attention when a 1920 Michigan referendum for compulsory public education received 40% of the vote.^[3] In 1922 Oregon passed a similar referendum. Eventually this law was challenged and unanimously struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in Pierce v. Society of Sisters.^[4]

The movement experienced a post–World War II revival when some Americans began to fear the power of the Catholic Church and wanted to ensure public funds were not finding their way to parochial schools.^[5] Some compared parochial schools to segregation and accused them of hindering democracy.^[6]

First Wave: 1920s

In the 1920s the idea of compulsory public education gained traction in various states, largely as a reaction against parochial schools. The Ku Klux Klan supported the movement.^[2] In Michigan the movement achieved a referendum on the subject in 1920, but won less than 40 percent of the vote.^[3] In Oregon a similar measure passed in 1922. Campaigning for it, the Ku Klux Klan “circulated a tract that pictured a grinning, torch-wielding Catholic bishop triumphantly departing from a burning public school house whose teacher rang the school bell one last time as he lay dying in the vestibule, mourned by crying children.”^[7]

In Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925) the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously struck down Oregon's law.^[4] The decision was widely hailed by progressives such as the presidents of Yale University and the University of Texas, the Journal of Education, John Dewey, and the National Education Association.^[8] However, other Progressives, such as future Supreme Court justice Felix Frankfurter criticized the decision as unwarranted judicial activism.^[9]

Second Wave: 1945–60

After World War II some progressives such as The Nation editor Paul Blanshard became concerned with the power of the Catholic Church. They did not want it to receive public funds via its schools.^[5] Some scholars have argued that the 1947 Supreme Court decision Everson v. Board of Education, which affirmed that the legal doctrine of separation of church and state applied at the State and Local government levels, was motivated by anti-Catholic feelings. That opinion was authored by Justice Hugo L. Black, who was an admirer of Blanshard.^[10]

Some progressives compared parochial education to racial segregation. "You cannot practice democratic living in segregated schools," said one Columbia professor, referring to Catholic schools.^[11] At a debate at Harvard Law School a Methodist Bishop called parochial schools un-American.^[12] In 1952 prominent educators openly attacked "nonpublic schools" at a convention of public school superintendents in Boston. They were following the lead of their own president and Harvard’s president, James B. Conant.^[13]

Third Wave: 1970s & 1980s

The United States Supreme Court gave an order granting bilingual education for Spanish-speaking students.^[14] The Equal Opportunity in Education Act which prohibited discrimination or unfair treatment for all people with regards to free and guaranteed education was ratified 1972.^[15]

The College Board, a nonprofit organization, found out that Scholastic Aptitude test scores declined steadily beginning in the middle part of the 1960s until the end of the 1970s. In the 1970s, education was not a vital public concern and did not get adequate attention from the media. The general public was not even aware that debates took place among educators. The Nation at Risk Report emerged as the typical educational axiom during the 1980s. This Report jolted millions of Americans to awake from their lack of concern regarding the state of educational institutions in the country.^[16]

Fourth Wave: 1990s

There was widespread social demand for education reforms in the 1990s. The catchphrase during that decade was “reinventing the government.” Supporters of this initiative claimed the bureaucracy was inefficient to the point of being bankrupt. These individuals and groups espoused new organization and effort that underscored authority, adaptability, competition, community empowerment, supervision, and performance incentives. Working groups on a national scale that focused on education and teaching control releases reports in the 1990s. These commissions called for a plan in guiding recruitment, preparation, and support in outstanding mentoring. In addition to these initiatives, said entities emphasized the need for flexibility as well as accountability in public school governance.^[17]

21st Century

US Department of Education Rod Paige facilitated the passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) of 2001, the most meaningful amendments in federal education legislation since the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965. This Statute enabled children in sub-performing schools to move to public institutions or receive coaching at government expense. It was the first time that parents can help their stressed children in gaining access to opportunities. Secretary Paige was responsible for assisting the District of Columbia in becoming home of the very first voucher program financed by the federal government.^[18]

In 2013, the Washington Post pointed out different issues in public education, the biggest of which was the growth of student poverty. National Coordinator for Broader bolder Approach to Education, a program initiated by the Economic Policy Institute, cited the Southern Education Foundation Study (October 2013). This study identified that poverty has always been the hindrance to educational success. The 21st Century increased the ratio of unemployed parents or those with jobs not capable of providing basic necessities including education. This situation requires authentic reforms that will allow children to obtain basic literacy together with skills in problem-solving and communications.^[19]

David Osborne of the Progressive Policy institute wrote an article entitled, “Reinventing America’s Schools: Creating a 21st Century Education System” that mentioned School boards under 21st century practices have found it less difficult to build new types of schools as new opportunities and requirements surface. Appointed or elected boards have more control over quality because of their capabilities to select among various operators, bargain for performance benchmarks, and do away with failing schools.^[20]

Massive Public Education System

The National Education Association (NEA) published an article explaining the main reason of American educators and leaders for visualizing an extensive system for public education. It is essential to train the youth in becoming dynamic contributors in self-government. Casting votes is not enough. Citizens of the United States must help look after the common good which entails nurturing debate proficiency, critical thinking, and civic virtues of students. However, only 25% of American students achieve the competent standard on the NAEP Civics Assessment.^[21]

The National Assessment of Educational Progress represents the biggest national assessment program that determines the knowledge of American students and what they are capable of in different subject areas. Assessments are performed occasionally in civics, history, mathematics, reading, writing, arts, science, geography, and economics. Technology and Engineering Literacy was also included. The NAEP started giving DIGITALLY BASED ASSESSMENTS or DBA for reading, writing, and mathematics in 2017. Additional subjects will be added in 2018 and 2019.^[22]

See also

• Compulsory education

References