(Guest Post by Matthew Ladner)
Today is the 26th anniversary of the publication of the report A Military at Risk which decried the racial combat effectiveness gap in the armed forces. You will of course recall the stark rhetoric of the report: “We face a rising tide of mediocrity in our armed services” and “Despite military spending that would stagger the imaginations of generals from previous decades, our armed forces today are do better at fighting than forces in 1970.” And who can forget: “If a foreign power had imposed this military system on us, we would view it as an act of war. As it is, we have done this to ourselves.”
Oh, you don’t remember that report, do you? That’s because it was never written. The United States military of today chew up the United States military of 1970 and ask for a real challenge, despite the fact that we had far more men in uniform in the past.
It’s called “progress.” It would be great if we had more of it in K-12.
Furthermore, the reason you’ve never heard of a racial/ethnic combat effectiveness gap is because it doesn’t exist. The integration of the military went much more smoothly than that of schools and universities, and people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds have served their country with distinction.
In my view, “race” is a cultural phenomenon, and one that does not handicap organizations with strong cultures. Diversity is not a problem in the United States Marine Corps because everyone signing up becomes a United States Marine.
The Marine Corps, of course, is not everyone’s cup of tea, precisely why the concept of parental choice is so crucial in schooling. Although there are many high quality traditional public schools, the task of maintaining a strong academic culture is complicated by consumers who may have little more in common than a zip code. Keeping a strong focus is difficult in any organization.
Like the Marines, KIPP charter schools are not for everyone. Parents must sign contracts requiring a high level of commitment. Half days on Saturdays will be viewed as a burden by some, an opportunity by others. KIPP isn’t for everyone, but it seems to serve the willing quite well indeed.
Inner city Catholic schools serve as another example, with profound and well documented benefits for students.
In the big picture, while we and others love fighting over the gory details (charters vs. vouchers, vouchers vs. tax credits, online vs. Jurassic, etc.) the truth is that a bipartisan consensus over the importance of choice in education has developed. Greatschools.net is a much better resource than real estate agent for judging schools.
The days of the vast majority of students being taught in zip code based schools by teachers who graduated from the bottom third of their university class are numbered. It’s almost certainly a big number, but it’s not going to last forever.
The sooner the better.
Jay P. Greene's Blog 
The sooner they move to a better system the better. I heard yesterday that Houston ISD will no longer be allowed to count off for students turning their work in late. Way to go Houston.
Does Jurassic = traditional public school?
Yes