I suspect that differences of opinion on questions such as, Do we spend enough on education? Should we have national standards? What is the role of government in education? Are vouchers and charter schools a good idea? are really about the trade-off between equity and excellence.
The fundamental disagreement can be seen this way. The graph below shows two hypothetical distributions of educational "goodness." Both options are represented by Gaussian curves, but they could be any shape. Option 1, the "Unfair but excellent" distribution, has a higher average, but more extremes at the high and low ends. Option 2, "Fair but mediocre," has a lower average but a tighter range.
If you could wave your magic wand and select either distribution for education in America, which would you choose?There's no wrong answer, here. There's an argument to be made for either being better. The one you'll choose depends on whether you think equity or excellence is more important. I suspect that much of the educational establishment (can I use that term?) places more weight on equity -- ensuring that no child is left behind. Somebody like Charles Murray, who believes educating the future elite is critical, would disagree.
So? What would you do?
