The Rebirth of Education: Schooling Ain’t Learning

Despite great progress around the world in getting more kids into schools, too many leave without even the most basic skills. In India’s rural Andhra Pradesh, for instance, only about one in twenty children in fifth grade can perform basic arithmetic. The problem is that schooling is not the same as learning; without greater focus on learning goals and fundamental changes to school systems, no amount of schooling will provide students in the developing world with what they need. With abundant data, sound analysis, and first-hand experience, Lant Pritchett shows that the solution is to allow functional systems to evolve locally out of an environment pressured for success. Schools systems need to be open to variety and experimentation, locally operated, and flexibly financed. The only main cost is ceding control; the reward would be the rebirth of education suited for today’s world.