The good part of this article is the first part. There is a widespread belief that systematic reviews of research and evidence will tell us 'what works' in education, write the authors. But "persistent and growing educational failures" tell us this is not enough. "What makes an education system 'good' is as much a moral and cultural question as a technical one." What counts as 'what works' really depends on what you want to do. The second half of the article is a bit of a straw man, depicting these objectives as things like 'gaining political power', 'spending resources' or 'bureaucratic rituals'. But in fact what we think of as 'good' ranges from better grades to employment outcomes to social resilience to ethical and cultural development. Even so, I agree with the authors that we need "discussion of the assumptions and goals underlying reforms" and that "there is no silver bullet or single answer — what works in one time and place and for one community may not be right for another."
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