Diane Ravitch

Diane Ravitch – Life, Career, and Influence

Discover the life of Diane Ravitch (b. 1938), American historian of education, policy thinker, and public education advocate. Explore her evolving views, major works, and lasting legacy.

Introduction

Diane Silvers Ravitch (born July 1, 1938) is a leading American historian of education, policy analyst, and public intellectual. Over decades, she has influenced debates on curriculum, testing, school reform, and the future of public schools. Once a proponent of standards and school choice, she later became one of their most vocal critics—and a defender of equitable, democratic public education.

Early Life & Education

Diane Ravitch was born in Houston, Texas into a Jewish family.

She earned her B.A. from Wellesley College and later completed a Ph.D. in history at Columbia University. Lawrence A. Cremin.

Academic & Public Service Career

Early Academic Work

Ravitch’s early scholarship focused on the history of American public schooling—its conflicts, reforms, and theoretical foundations. Her first major book, The Great School Wars: New York City, 1805-1973 (1974), examines episodes of centralization, decentralization, and the political forces shaping public education.

Another significant early work is The Revisionists Revised: A Critique of the Radical Attack on Schools (1978), where she responded to critiques that saw public schooling as a tool of social control.

During the 1980s and 1990s, she held positions at Teachers College, Columbia University and lectured broadly, bridging academic and public discourse.

Government & Policy Roles

From 1991 to 1993, Ravitch served as Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to the U.S. Secretary of Education under President George H. W. Bush. In that role, she oversaw the Office of Educational Research and Improvement and was involved in promoting the development of voluntary academic standards.

Later, she served on the National Assessment Governing Board (1997–2004), the body overseeing the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

From 1995 to 2005, Ravitch held the Brown Chair in Education Studies at the Brookings Institution, editing Brookings Papers on Education Policy.

She was also a Research Professor of Education at NYU from 1995 onwards.

Intellectual Evolution & Views

A central feature of Ravitch’s career is a significant shift in her educational philosophy. Earlier, she supported policies such as standards, accountability, and school choice. Over time, however, she became critical of high-stakes testing, privatization, and charter school expansion—arguing they undermine public education, equity, and democratic values.

Her 2010 book The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education marked a turning point. In it, she contended that overreliance on standardized tests and competition weakened instruction, narrowed curriculum, and harmed schools serving disadvantaged students.

Her later work Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools (2013) further deepened her critique of education reform policies centered on market logic and private management.

Major Works

Some of Ravitch’s influential books include:

• The Great School Wars: New York City, 1805-1973 (1974)

• The Revisionists Revised: A Critique of the Radical Attack on Schools (1978)

• Left Back: A Century of Battles Over School Reform (2000)

• The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn (2003)

• The Death and Life of the Great American School System (2010)

• Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement (2013)

She has also edited anthologies (e.g. The American Reader, The Democracy Reader) and published hundreds of articles in academic and popular forums.

Influence & Legacy

• Public Education Defender: Ravitch’s later advocacy positioned her as a leading voice opposing privatization and defending democratic public schooling.

• Shaping Policy Debate: Her transition from reform supporter to critic lends authority to her critiques and challenges assumptions in education policy circles.

• Popular Reach: Her blog and writings reach both scholars and ordinary citizens; millions of page reads attest to her influence.

• Intellectual Integrity: Her willingness to revise her earlier views publicly is often cited as a model of intellectual honesty in public policy debates.

• Historical Lens: As a historian of education, she grounds contemporary debates in historical insight, reminding us how reforms repeat earlier patterns and mistakes.