A version of this commentary was published in the Plattsburgh Press-Republican, and is available on line here

When it comes to educational criticism I have become accustomed to hearing the voices of business and industry calling for school reform while ignoring the real issues which they have helped to foster. Recently I was struck by the irony of local business leaders calling for new educational standards while ignoring the news of significant revenue reductions necessitating budget cuts at our local schools. Despite the shortfall, business leaders urged school districts to do more with less.  Schools must beef up student preparation for college and industry, they say. They point to low test scores and mediocre global competitiveness rankings. Schools, they say, are to blame for poor academic results and an underprepared work force. Educational improvement is needed to make American business and industry more competitive in the global markets. Blame rests with inconsistent schools and irresponsible parents. These are narrow explanations that fail to confront the heart of the problem.

I agree that ongoing educational improvement should be a cornerstone of contemporary public schooling. However it is unrealistic to expect productive reforms while schools, educators, and families are reeling from the relentless budget cuts that have forced districts to reduce and eliminate programs across the region, state, and nation. Moreover, critics from business and industry rarely acknowledge the social inequities at the root of our unequal educational outcomes. We are afflicted by a relentless achievement gap dividing successful and unsuccessful students. This we know and have known. Our educational gaps bear striking resemblance to the persistent income gap. In 2009, America’s richest 5% possessed almost two-thirds of the nation’s wealth. Nations who rank higher than the United States in international test score comparisons do not exhibit this widespread economic and educational diversity. The test scores of more privileged cross-sections of American students are high compared with our European and Asian competitors of similar backgrounds. A 2010 study by Stanford sociologist Sean Reardon points out that the widening income gap of the past forty years closely parallels the achievement gap between children in high and low income families. This confirms and extends similar conclusions reflecting studies going back to the Coleman Report during the 1960s. The persistent gaps in American education do not merely reflect problems in schools and families. Our inability to reduce these gaps can best be explained by our unwillingness to address the pervasive condition of American social inequality.

Spokespersons for business and public policy refuse to address this more troubling reality, expecting schools to paddle upstream then blaming them for their lack of progress.   Business interests expect publically funded schools to provide private industry with more and better technologically-savvy employees while ensuring that the bulk of profits are directed toward the few at the top. Whenever possible, companies use carefully crafted IRS loopholes to avoid paying corporate income taxes. General Electric paid no income taxes in 2010 despite worldwide profits of $14.2 billion. Soon after precipitating economic disaster, financial institutions reaped billions in profits while public institutions continued to suffer from Wall Street’s misdeeds. Politicians who now claim deficit-reduction as our top priority rationalize budgets that offer additional tax benefits for the wealthy and do nothing to address the persistence of social inequality.

America’s educational gap is real, and there is much that schools and educators can and should do to foster improvement for all of our children. However, at the root of this problem is not schooling itself or the personal deficiencies of our poorest families. Blaming the schools and the poor is an elaborate smokescreen. American society provides great advantages to those with existing privilege at the expense of those without. It’s an American problem, broadly conceived, and ultimately it will only be fixed when we are all willing to address the social inequities that continue to hamper our progress.