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The us has a similar profit driven model parallel to state funded schools. While private schools have always been available, only in the last few decades did th

The us has a similar profit driven model parallel to state funded schools. While private schools have always been available, only in the last few decades did they move from large monolithic institutions to national corporations. What we tend to call charter schools, profit off of government funding while sometimes putting corporate incentives over student well being. As with public schools, there is a spectrum of excellent to failing schools. But instead of the students success determining profit, the school is often faced with the decision: chase test scores to get more government funding, or file countless, often borderline false IEPs for difficult students and profit off the extra "need based" government funding. This had the effect of replacing the natural spectrum of education with a pigeon hole, excellent high stress test driven school. Or failing, school whose goal is more that of a prison than educational institution.

jschveibinz 6y ago
I would like to address some of the hyperbole in this comment. The US has a majority of publicly-funded primary schools (K-12)—- 16,800 districts by a recent count —- that are primarily funded by local property taxes and run by local school boards. Only 9% of schools are private, and only 7% of public schools are charter schools (semi-private). National funding for primary education in the US is relatively small (roughly 8%) and is mostly tied to special services. The US Dept. of Education is toothless: it is primarily focused on setting policies and administering Title 9. If Sweden has a problem with profiteering in national primary education funding, it is difficult to draw an analogy to US schools just based on the facts stated above. It is true that some US school districts suffer from funding shortfalls due to low local tax base, and the need to show passing grades does drive some schools to “cheat” in order to receive state and federal subsidies, but this is not a universal country-wide problem. The magic solution to educating low-income, socially disadvantaged children who live in very difficult living situations with no assistance from parents has yet to be devised. Or has it? Check out what these folks are doing in Baltimore: https://www.thread.org/ https://www.thread.org/

jschveibinz 6y ago

I would like to address some of the hyperbole in this comment. The US has a majority of publicly-funded primary schools (K-12)—- 16,800 districts by a recent count —- that are primarily funded by local property taxes and run by local school boards. Only 9% of schools are private, and only 7% of public schools are charter schools (semi-private). National funding for primary education in the US is relatively small (roughly 8%) and is mostly tied to special services. The US Dept. of Education is toothless: it is primarily focused on setting policies and administering Title 9. If Sweden has a problem with profiteering in national primary education funding, it is difficult to draw an analogy to US schools just based on the facts stated above. It is true that some US school districts suffer from funding shortfalls due to low local tax base, and the need to show passing grades does drive some schools to “cheat” in order to receive state and federal subsidies, but this is not a universal country-wide problem. The magic solution to educating low-income, socially disadvantaged children who live in very difficult living situations with no assistance from parents has yet to be devised. Or has it? Check out what these folks are doing in Baltimore: https://www.thread.org/ https://www.thread.org/